Ohio to Privatize Inmate Meal Services

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) has awarded a two-year contract to Philadelphia-based Aramark to provide meal services to the state’s 50,000 inmates.

Expected to save approximately $14 million annually during a time of a $60 million deficit, Aramark won the bid with a cost of $3.61 per inmate, per day.

“The department is able to meet its budget requirements while avoiding closing housing units and laying off security staff,” said JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the ODRC.

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Ohio Prison Turns Trash into Cash Savings

LEBANON, Ohio — Lebanon Correctional Institution, a state-run prison in Lebanon, Ohio, is saving the state thousands of dollars through green practices. Inmates at LCI are sorting out trash at the facility and turning it over to a local company for composting.

The recycling program consists of inmates sorting all solid trash items from the prison including separating paper and sorting plastic and aluminum products into different bags that the prison then sells to nearby garden center, Marvin’s Organic Gardens in Lebanon, Ohio.

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