Ellington

Hinds County privatizing food service at jails

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Hinds County is privatizing its jail food service.

The Clarion-Ledger reports (http://on.thec-l.com/SRw2bi ) the annual savings to the county will be at least $100,000 at the three jail facilities and another $100,000 at the Henley-Young Juvenile Detention Center.

Valley Foods, and not county-hired cooks, will provide supplies and prepare food at the Adult Detention Center in Raymond, the County Penal Farm in Raymond and the Jackson jail facility, along with the juvenile center in south Jackson that usually houses about 50 teens.

Officials say among chief advantages of the move to privatization is that Valley is providing first-time dietitians to plan meals that address inmates with health concerns, such as diabetes, and inmates whose religion bars certain foods.