Crackers, water are the new foods in the Polk Jail

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

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Instead of peanut butter sandwiches inmates will have meat sandwiches.

POLK COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Polk County inmates will be saying good-bye to some of their favorite foods.

The Department of Detention is attempting to slash their budget by $200,000 and still provide nutrition to the inmates. This means that certain foods will no longer be seen on the menu.

Aaron Fisher, an inmate who works as a trustee inside the kitchen, said the inmates are not happy with the new menu.

"Everybody looked forward to peanut butter every week," said Fisher, "Every Thursday, you know?"

But those peanut butter sandwiches have been replaced with meat, and the cornbread served on soup day has been switched out for packages of crackers.

For breakfast, inmates will now receive just one slice of bread instead of two. Their two fresh eggs per week have been replaced with a single egg patty. And cartons of fresh milk have been replaced with non-fat powdered milk.

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Water is the new drink of choice for lunch and dinner - coffee, tea, juice, and chocolate milk have all been cut from the menu.

The sheriff says each inmate will still get between 2,300 and 2,800 calories each day.

The changes will save the Polk County Sheriff's Office $195,000 annually.

"These are tough budget times, and every penny we save is a penny we don't have to ask the taxpayer for," said Polk County sheriff Grady Judd. "If you want to eat that, that's fine. Stay out of jail. That's what mom will feed you. But the sheriff is going to feed you crackers and soup and sandwiches, on day-old bread."