Grand jury: Mendocino County jail food just fine

By TIFFANY REVELLE
Updated: 06/11/2013 08:43:29 AM PDT

Says complaints about starvation' diets unfounded
The grand jury gave the Mendocino County Jail and the Juvenile Hall rave reviews on the nutrition it serves up to inmates in a report it recently released, titled "Inmate nutrition."

The grand jury got a complaint claiming an inmate was "being starved,'" and read several letters to the editor in the Ukiah Daily Journal "complaining of food served at the jail and at Juvenile Hall," but, during a visit, "found both kitchens prepared meals that met the state guidelines and served quality meals at a low cost per meal," according to the report.

The report praises the jail's practice of baking its own bread as a cost-cutter and "good training for the inmates." The grand jury found that the average cost per meal at the jail is $1.

The bread-baking crew is usually two inmates, according to Lt. John Bednar of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

"We try to find someone with a longer sentence, because there's a training process involved," Bednar said.

Each loaf of bread costs an average of 30 cents to make, according to the grand jury report, and the inmates working in the kitchen "receive sufficient training to receive food handling certification preparing them for future employment."

Tom Cargile, 49, is currently the most experienced crewman on the job. He's been helping bake roughly 130 loaves of bread every day for five months, starting every morning at about 4:30 a.m. The loaves produce two slices per inmate for two meals, serving about 300 inmates daily, he said.

"This is my first time (as a baker)," Cargile said. "The jail trained me in it and I love it."

He said he plans to use his newly-acquired skills when he gets out of jail, and to use his food safety certification to apply at local bakeries.

Slices of the freshly-baked bread and lunch sandwich fixings awaited the four members of the garden crew, who were enjoying their work Thursday in the jail's two garden plots so much that they were in no rush to get inside out of the sun.

A shade house had, however, been built to shelter bell peppers, tomatoes and lettuce, according to John Youngbird-Holt, a contractor who supervises the garden crew. His crew was just putting in cantaloupes, and was caring for broccoli, potatoes, strawberries, asparagus, artichokes, leeks, pumpkins and one "voluntary" -- unplanned -- zucchini plant, among other things.

The garden is also home to a goji berry tree (which bears a high-antioxidant fruit similar to a cherry) and a single grapevine, and will soon also feature an herb garden.

Bednar noted that there is currently no way of tracking how much of the jail's vegetable and fruit needs the garden covers, but that it supplements the meals nicely.

Inmate Ron Maple, 49, dubbed the garden "crew chief," half-joked that being on the garden crew is "a lot better than being locked up in the main jail." His crewmates agreed with hearty laughter, and Maple noted that the men also enjoyed the sunshine, physical labor and camaraderie.

The grand jury found that the "garden is an important supplement of fresh produce and healthy outdoor work." One of the grand jury's few criticisms was that "only male inmates work in the garden," and recommended "that female inmates have the same opportunity."

Bednar said the jail would need a female supervisor to accomplish that, and currently only has a male supervisor, Youngbird-Holt. The jail is working on a solution, he said.

The grand jury found the food complaints "unwarranted," and noted, "If inmates ate all the food served at the jail, their diet may be healthier than what would be consumed at home."

Men need an average of 2,400 to 2,500 calories daily for a sedentary lifestyle, the report notes, and women need 1,900 to 2,000 calories daily. Between 500 and 800 more calories would be needed for "moderate activity," and 700 to 1,000 more would be needed for "hard physical work," according to the report.

Even the "disciplinary meatloaf," also called "nutraloaf" -- served to inmates "who show extreme behaviors" -- meets dietary requirements, the grand jury notes.

"Prepackaged and expensive" meals are available for special diets, as are meals for religious preferences at both the jail and juvenile hall, according to the report. Pregnant women get a fourth meal of fruit and milk.

The grand jury found the Juvenile Hall kitchen "small but efficient," and that it prepares about 26 meals three times daily.

Nutrition requirements for Juvenile Hall "are more than those for schools and include one cup of fruit at lunch and a recent increase in the amount of legumes served," according to the report.

In addition, the grand jury found that "the quantity of food served at the jail and JH are state mandates and monitored by a dietitian and annually by state inspectors;" that the Juvenile Hall kitchen staff needs a computer to access nutritional information, monitor caloric value of menu items and send required reports.

The grand jury recommended that Juvenile Hall administration provide a computer and nutrition program training, and that jail administration find a volunteer or "additional resources" to hire a part-time female supervisor to allow women to work in the garden.

Tiffany Revelle can be reached at udjtr@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @TiffanyRevelle or at 468-3523.

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/news/ci_23432965/grand-jury-mendocino-county-jail-food-just-fine