FARMINGTON – The aroma of homemade bread wafts through the kitchen as the chef prepares a classic meat sauce using fresh ingredients for spaghetti.
For the 29 inmates at the Franklin County jail, the delicious meals made from scratch are the highlight of each day and for the county budget’s bottom line, it is offering real savings.
The move towards comfort food made fresh each day is an unusual one for a detention center. Most facilities rely on quick and easy pre-made meals, but they come at a higher cost–both in budget and nutrition–than homemade meals.
The decision to make all the meals from scratch came when Lorna Nichols was hired in February 2015 as cook supervisor as the jail prepared to convert back to a full service facility.
Nichols researched inmate menus and compared prepackaged products with the costs of making her own. She found the difference to be between 20 and 50 percent more for the commercially pre-made meals. While Franklin County pays $2 per meal on average, other counties may spend as much as $5 per meal.
A total of $70,000 was budgeted for the jail’s meals with only little more than half that, or $36,000, expended during the current fiscal year. Two full-time staff positions, Nichols’ and a cook assistant’s, along with and a part-time assistant, were already needed to cover the kitchen’s daily 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shifts. So, Nichols reasoned, why not spend the shifts making meals from scratch instead of just heating up the more expensive prepackaged ones?
The studies she found concerning prisoners also demonstrated the importance of serving better quality, nutritional meals.
“Research showed a correlation between the better the food served to inmates was, the less likely they were to combative, angry,” she said. By serving good old-fashioned comfort food, “We’re helping to ensure the safety of our COs (corrections officers).”
Once she decided to make her own meals, she created recipes or tweaked existing ones to be lower in cost and easier in preparation.
Another added benefit is that some inmates, many of whom are diabetic, need to be on special diets. Commercially prepared meals may contain ingredients that can be detrimental to their diets.
“The labels don’t necessarily say ‘soy’-that’s a big one-as an ingredient,” Nichols said, but can contain traces. Other inmates may be allergic to certain foods. On intake, an inmate with a food allergy is followed up by the medical personnel and then an order is written up for the kitchen staff to be aware of the need to avoid a specific food.
“By making our own meals we know what’s in it,” she said. Another plus is there’s less of a need for storage since the food is delivered fresh twice a week.
Due to the unknown influx of inmates coming and going, everything is prepped well ahead.
Jail Administrator Maj. Doug Blauvelt said at lunch there can be a four- or five-person difference than planned for breakfast. For those possibilities, Nichols makes double batches that can serve up to 50 people and freezes usually half for future meals.
The nutritious fare is of critical importance to those inmates battling substance abuse issues, who arrive sick and many times underweight.
“When they eat healthy meals, they start to feel better,” Blauvelt said. “They look healthier when they’re ready to leave.”
Soon a vegetable garden will be planted to furnish the jail with fresh tomatoes, beans, onions, squash, which Nichols specified for her recipes. Much will be frozen for use through the year. Besides the loaves of bread she makes daily, rolls, corn bread, muffins and cookies are on the menus. Favorite meals are the lasagna, quesadillas, BLTs, “they love those,” she said, and Saturday is homemade baked bean night.
“It’s not extravagant; it’s just good comfort food, like going home,” Nichols said.
By making her own meals, Blauvelt said, Nichols “didn’t have to increase the staff, but she’s very, very busy.”
I bet the terrorist Bundy brothers wish they were in Franklin county jail Instead of the Multnomah county jail in Oregon, where they are whining about the food. They should have brought snacks, or better yet, not committed an act of terrorism against the U.S.
WOW!!! Sounds better than some of the restaurants in town. Can I call in a “take out”?
Makes me want to go to jail.
That’s great, Lorna!!!
Christ they eat better then u do scott.
Bless you Lorna and the sheriff for letting you do this.
Hows the kids meals at the scools these days?? Just wondering.
Sad but true the inmates are eating better than the school lunches for sure. Lorna is a great cook and most of us know that. It would be nice if they could up the quality of school food . It seems that there could be more and fresher. food at school. and it would be cheaper than package food. Friday morning breakfast of a choc chip muffin a is not my idea of nutrition. The kids favorites are egg sandwiches, scrambled eggs loaded with protein and yet they might get that once a month. Lorna thanks for setting a good example
I’ll bet the prisoners are eating better and healthier than the kids!
I was well into adulthood before I realized that food is more than just a way to fill the void in your stomach. Healthier food = healthier body and mind. Thank you, Lorna and Sheriff Nichols for implementing this plan. Hopefully this will spur a trend in this area and, as others have said, spill over into the school system. Parents and teachers are confronted with behavioral issues that could be curbed if nutritional deficiencies (such as magnesium, linked to ADHD among other health issues) and excess sugar/high fructose corn syrup were addressed.
Ah so lets support our schools by increasing their budget to allow for fresh food there.
I’m not sure where the chocolate chip muffins are, but at the middle school, the breakfast is always a sausage/egg/cheese sandwich on an English muffin, breakfast pizza (with sausage), or cereal (two choices), and there are always orange juice and milk, and sometimes fresh fruit as well.
oops, i guess somebody forgot that “conservatives” only care about saving taxpayer money when it fits in with their draconian social agenda and “mefirst” worldview! for the love of trump, double my taxes, just make sure nobody in jail, school, or on welfare has access to decent nutrition or is treated like a human being!
About time the jail started making home made meals again like they did atthe old jail for many years. It does save money and is better than pre packaged stuff
Great work! This is awesome.
Great job, and I bet I can guess where the higher priced meals were purchased from, Sysco????
How about bread and water at the jail? I bet that would significantly reduce the cost, and be a deterrent from doing things to get you put in there in the first place! I mean really, with a menu like that, heat in the winter and AC in the summer, and all at no cost to you, the inmate, what is the incentive not to go to jail?
Wonderful idea Lorna!! I hope this philosophy is looked at for all of the institutions in this country – you have proven that the ‘good old fashion’ way is the right way for everyone, especially for those who must rely on someone else for their meals. You are such a blessing! Thank you.
Jeremy, most people don’t think that way. Loss of freedom, even if it’s your own fault for messing up, is hard.
Great job Lorna! Just because people are in jail they should have food that tastes better than glue! I also agree with ” sad but true” our kids deserve good, well balanced meals because it may be the only meal they get..we had a cook in our district that fixed peanut butter sandwiches at least 3 days a week..she just switched out what type of bread was used, Hamburg rolls, hotdog rolls, etc…I put my foot down and wouldn’t let my kids eat at school, instead made them a better lunch..with fruit and veggies…
Anyways, I am proud of Lorna and the sheriff for trying to save money for our county…THANKYOU!
Food is one of the most important aspects of corrections. Poorly fed inmates are a big problem. They get sick fast, which is expensive, and they get angry, which is dangerous to staff and each other. Morality (and the law) requires even the most despicable inmate to be treated with dignity and professional compassion. No one who has ever worked in a correctional institution would ever advocate “bread and water”.
I’ve done time in both the current jail and its predecessor. (It was my job!) Back in the day the jail cook (often the Sheriff’s wife) was paid a set amount each month to feed the inmates. Any money the cook could save on food was kept by said cook. Nobody checked that it (the $) actually went into the inmates’ stomachs. On more than one occasion as late as the 1970’s the inmates rioted over their diet. After being served the same stale bread and chicken broth (no meat or vegetables) three times a day for four days straight , the inmates threw it back through the cubby hole into the kitchen, all over the cook. The Sheriff was furious and took away all the already few inmate privileges for a week, including TV, tobacco, and library books. The inmates took it out on the staff and the facility, doing serious and expensive damage to the old jail’s plumbing and electrical systems and injuring more than one staff member (me included!). More than once the staff pooled their own money and bought food from local restaurants for the inmates after the cook went home for the night.
I’ve eaten Lorna’s food and that of her many predecessors. Franklin County citizens are lucky to have her as an employee.
Wow…how can an article written to cast a positive spotlight towards something good happening in our community turn so quickly into a negative bashing party about an entirely different topic…and people, for the most part, hide behind anonymous identities. Thank you, Cheryl Ellis and all the current and former food service workers in our local school district. As a former employee/18 year veteran, I speak firsthand of the hard work and personal sacrifice Cheryl has given our community by directing the district’s food service. A vast number of guidelines, restrictions, regulations, limitations, expectations, and numerous other entities govern our public school meals…and Cheryl has gone beyond and above employing all aspects of each…with the ultimate goal of serving a nutritional breakfast and lunch that little Susie will actually eat. Thank you, Cheryl, for the dedication to which you have served us all, and I apologize for the unwarranted negativity of your hard work and commitment.
All that’s missing is a hair net.
Lorna is wearing a hair net.
This is great! It saves the county money (plus medical expenses, since the inmates are eating better, too). Glad things are turning out for the better for our jail. Just because someone has been arrested doesn’t mean they have been convicted. Remember that.
Frumpleton, I agree completely. I see this as an opportunity for building a stronger community. Back in the good old days we had a town farm where folks in need could get a hand up. Learning a skill like gardening is something that you can use for a lifetime and many of the inmates could benefit from. As a member of our community I would like to help make this happen. If this project needs compost or the use of a tractor with a rototiller say the word and I will be there!
anybody who thinks a decent meal and humane treatment leaves people with no incentive to stay out of jail has probably never been in jail.
Maine Native,
If the offer of a tractor and rototiller was sincere, please contact me at the Jail @ 778-3032, I’d like to talk to you about it.
LT. Donald,
Franklin County Detention Center.