MANSFIELD — Inflation is driving up the cost of meals for inmates at the Richland County Jail and the Community Alternative Center.
The county’s price per meal will jump 5.8 percent when the renewal of a contract with Trinity Services Group begins at the end of February.
County commissioners approved the one-year renewal on Thursday during a meeting with Rachel Troyer, the county’s central services coordinator.
“It’s not going to be pretty for the next couple of years,” Troyer told commissioners. The contract allows for a price increase at the time of renewal and Trinity exercised that increase, she said.
The average price per meal, based on 601 to 650 total meals per day at the two sites, will rise to $1.873, up from $1.770 during the first year of the deal. That first year was a 3.8 percent increase over the year prior to that.
Based on 625 meals per day at that price, the county would pay around $427,000 per year for jail inmate meals.
The consumer price index climbed 7 percent in 2021, the largest 12-month gain since June 1982, according to U.S. Labor Department data.
“You can’t hide from food. You need to feed people,” Commissioner Tony Vero said.
Richland County Sheriff’s Capt. Chris Blunk, who oversees the county jail, said he had anticipated the price increase in his 2022 budget request.
“I requested about $540,000, which assumes a full (jail) population,” he said. “It’s hard to estimate when you don’t know for certain how many inmates you will have.”
He said the jail had 160 inmates as of Thursday morning, down from an average of 190 to 195 in the last three months.
Blunk said he had also seen a 20 percent increase in grievances/complaints in the last year from inmates regarding good. Complaints could range from issues like portion sizes, food temperature or just not liking the food being served, he said.
“Of the 116 grievances, we were able to successfully resolve 42 percent,” he said. “I don’t think (the number of complaints) is horrible. I am not steaming mad. That’s the business we are in.”
According to its website, Trinity Service Group is the largest contractor in the United States dedicate to the corrections industry, in business since 1990.
With more than 3,400 employees, it operates in 43 states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It’s headquartered in Florida and sub-contracts with local vendors, according to Troyer.
