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Board approves three-year $29 million jail food contract amid questions about food quality and inmate labor
Summary
The board approved a three-year contract with GD Correctional Services to provide food services at Essex County Correctional Facility (with two one-year options). Commissioners and public speakers pressed vendors and corrections staff on food quality allegations, halal/Ramadan accommodations, inmate involvement in kitchen work and inmate pay increases.
The Essex County Board approved a three-year contract with GD Correctional Services to provide food services at the county jail, drawing questions from commissioners and members of the public about menu quality, inmate labor and oversight.
Department of Corrections Director Charles presented the contract (item 11), noting it includes two one-year renewal options. Jennifer Langenbeck, resident district director for GD Correctional Food Services, told the board GD has provided meals in the county for more than 20 years, serves over 10,000 meals at the correctional facility, employs about 36 staff in the kitchen and said the vendor maintains a…
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