Commission extends Aramark jail food contract for three months as procurement questions linger

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a three-month extension with Aramark Correctional Services LLC for jail food service, a short-term measure commissioners said was necessary to ensure continuity of meals while a pending RFP is scored and negotiated.

Alicia Lindsay, Chief Administrative Officer for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, told the commission the current contract is $6.1 million and that an additional $2,225,000 had been added earlier in the fiscal year because the jail population had increased. She said an RFP had been issued and scored by the department and that Purchasing would produce composite scorecards. "An RFP was issued on March 24, 2026...those scorecards are going to Purchasing today," Lindsay said.

Several commissioners pressed for more transparency about the procurement documents and whether the next contract would include goals for local and minority vendor participation. One commissioner asked whether the contract could be broken into parts to increase local competition; Lindsay said the department had kept a single contract to control costs and that breaking it into multiple awards would raise overall costs. Commissioners asked for quarterly reports and a copy of the original scorecard; Lindsay said monthly invoices and itemized meal counts would be provided to the body on request.

The motion to extend for three months passed on a recorded vote; commissioners said the extension was intended to avoid a service gap on July 1 while the county completes a fair procurement process.