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| Prison Food a Hit in Campbell County |
| By Gillette News-Record /Associated Press |
| Published: 07/02/2003 |
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''The issue here is, every inmate I have is somebody's mother or father, son or daughter, aunt or uncle,'' Campbell County Sheriff's Capt. Greg Bennick said. ''How do you want your family treated?'' With a few exceptions, nobody wants to be in jail. It can be humiliating. Mobility is extremely limited. And the clothing choices stink. Many comforts are obviously absent in jail, but the concept of a hearty, homemade meal is not lost in Campbell County. Biscuits and gravy, smothered steak and baked potato, and grilled cheese and tomato soup are a sample of the jail menu. ''Incarceration is the punishment ... isolation from society,'' said Bennick, who's managed the jail for eight years. ''Does that mean we should treat people with less dignity and respect? No.'' While most people are still drooling on their pillows, Sharleen Benson is preparing and planning meals by 4 a.m. - some 300 a day on average. ''I like cooking for them because they appreciate it,'' said Benson, who's been the jail's food service supervisor for about six years. She manages a crew of three full-time workers, a part-time employee and two inmate volunteers each day. The kitchen can be a busy, hectic and sometimes messy place. But it feels like home to Benson. ''It's fun. It's comforting. It just feels good to know you're providing something pleasing,'' said Benson, who has baked cookies and pies and prepared meals in the jail's kitchen since 1988. Ensuring the jail maintains quality food, such as fresh baked rolls and desserts, may seem like a great effort for not much reward. Bennick passionately argues against that point. ''If you serve bad food, inmates can get up in arms about it. They can unite against a common enemy,'' he said. But there's another importance for inmates. ''In jail the three meals are pretty much the social events of the day,'' Bennick said. ''It takes on significance there.'' All of the food is prepared in-house, meaning ingredients and some prepared items are shipped to the jail where they are transformed into main dishes and side courses. ''It adds a little touch of home,'' Bennick said. Each meal costs about $1.43 per person, but the cost doesn't factor in benefits and salaries of kitchen staff, he added. ''Bottom line is, we have local control and that means a lot,'' he said. ''If we get something that comes out of there that is bad, we get instantaneous feedback.'' Inmate LeeRoy Gray, meanwhile, has put on some weight. ''I've gained more weight in this jail than jail in Iowa. I lost weight in Iowa,'' Gray said during a recent outdoor work detail. Considering the daily menu consists of between 2,700 to 3,000 calories, it's not surprising. ''Some guys, when they leave here, they can't wear the pants they came in with,'' jail officer Rita Jordan said. A Campbell County Memorial Hospital dietitian reviews the jail's menu every six months, Bennick said. The high calorie content is based on the average age of inmates: 23. ''The older guys will put on weight. But a lot of these people aren't used to eating a well-balanced meal every day,'' Bennick said. Although there is not an agreed upon favorite dish among the jail, Benson has a few ideas. ''I assume they like the shrimp. I've never had a complaint about it except the no-fish guys,'' she said. The jail shrimp dinner is a basket of deep-fried shrimp with french fries, carrots and a serving of peach crisp. There are a few other dishes that garner relatively few uproars: - The chicken sandwich includes a fried chicken patty on a hamburger bun with tomato, lettuce and honey mustard. It comes with a side of french fries, corn and applesauce. - The chicken fried steak comes with a helping of mashed potatoes and gravy, a side of broccoli and a slice of lemon pie. - Then there are the taco and chef salads, which are made using fresh vegetables. ''The taco salads are a big boom,'' Benson said. But they are the most time consuming to make because all of the vegetables are chopped and added onto the salad much like an assembly line. This first-rate chow isn't only for inmates. ''My custody staff takes part in the meals,'' Bennick said. While sometimes it's for convenience for detention personnel, other times it makes good sense. ''It's part of the philosophy is to treat people as we would want to be treated or our families,'' Bennick said. If the staff won't eat it, the inmates won't eat it. But officers welcome any one of Benson's creations. ''The Tater-tot casserole. I started making it after I started working here,'' jail officer Kevin Allen said. The menu changes each week on a four-week cycle. But meals inevitable can become old news. ''Do long-term inmates get tired? Yeah. Over time it's institutional,'' Bennick said. ''Some guys just want to go to McDonald's and get a hamburger.'' Maybe not a burger, but inmate Trinity Schiefer understands. ''A rib-eye steak is what I would like,'' he said. |
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