Michigan prisons spending too much on food

LANSING, Mich. (Newschannel 3) - Michigan legislators announced Wednesday that they had reached a deal to balance the state's budget for Fiscal Year 2009, and that budget is $397 million smaller than what Gov. Granholm proposed six months ago.

One source of controversy in the budget talks is state prisons spending, which has been a tough issue the last several years of budget negotiations.

The state of Michigan puts more people in prison than any other Midwestern state. It costs $2 million a day to run Michigan's prisons, and much of your tax money goes to feeding inmates.

The recently-released report from the state Office of the Auditor General recommends revamping the prison food system by bringing in a private food service company, and cutting fruits, vegetables and milk from the menu. The report also recommends the state put a system into place that would prevent double-dipping, or prisoners stealing extra meals.

But Russ Marlan with the Michigan Department of Corrections says some of the recommendations, like cutting nutritional foods from the menu, could actually hurt taxpayers.

"Food plays a role in your health, so since we have these prisoners for long-term, feeding them non-natural foods or imitation foods can be detrimental to their health," said Marlan. We want them to be healthy, so we reduce health care costs."

More than 4,000 Michigan inmates are serving life sentences, and over time, the costs add up for taxpayers, who are footing the bill for a healthy menu.

That menu includes a diet of 2,600 to 2,900 calories a day, with a typical breakfast of fresh fruit or cereal, eggs and toast; a lunch of a sandwich, vegetables and a baked potato; and a dinner of an entree, fresh fruit, vegetables, and even ice cream.

All of that costs $5 a day per inmate, but some believe that could be trimmed to $2 to $3 a day if a food service company could do it in volume, saving tens of millions of dollars each year.

"Critics have said you can do it cheaper," said Marlan. "The audit said to look into doing it cheaper, and that's what we are going to do."

Representative Mike Nofs (R) of Battle Creek says county jails are doing it cheaper these days, and in some cases, it costs less than $3 a day to feed a prisoner. With that proof, Rep. Nofs says the state has a responsibility to try to get a cheaper contract from a private company.

"To make sure we're getting the best bang for the citizen's buck, that's paying the money to keep these people in prisons," he said.

Many law enforcement officials across the state are pressuring the government to cut costs, in hopes to boost funding for education and local government services instead.