LANSING, MI (AP)-- The state Corrections Department says food service has greatly improved since Michigan dropped private contractors and put public employees again in prison kitchens.
Spokesman Chris Gautz tells the Detroit Free Press that the kitchens are cleaner and more fully staffed, and the meals are more likely to be served on time.
Gautz also says the number of disciplinary "stop orders" has dropped dramatically. Over nearly five years, when Aramark Correctional Services and Trinity Services Group ran the kitchens, there was an average of 7.4 stop orders a month. That's now down to 1.6 per month.
He says part of the problem was high staff turnover at the private companies. Staffers with only weeks of experience were showing the ropes to the newest employees.
