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| Commissioners accept Aramark's resignation |
| By Fort Worth Star-Telegram |
| Published: 03/15/2004 |
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Bad food and bad blood could soon be just a bad memory at the Tarrant County (Texas) Jail. A company providing meals for inmates was allowed to withdraw from its contract last Tuesday, ending more than two months of complaints about food supplies, taste and quality. The Tarrant County Commissioners Court unanimously accepted the resignation of Aramark Correctional Services. That action automatically awarded the annual contract to the secondary bidder, Hurst-based Mid-States Services, which had been providing jail meals until it was outbid last year by the Philadelphia-based Aramark. After the vote, Sheriff Dee Anderson said that inmates had been so riled over spoiled food, food shortages and unpalatable meals that jail workers narrowly avoided riots on at least two occasions only by bringing in sandwiches and promising that improvements were on the way. Going back to Mid-States will cost the county about $212,000 more for the remainder of the fiscal year. Of four companies that bid for the contract, Aramark made the lowest bid, at $3.3 million. Mid-States was the third lowest, at $3.6 million, but it was selected as the second most responsible bidder and runner-up for the contract. Mid-States' bid last year, however, was a reduction of its previous $4.1 million contract with the county, so the cost to taxpayers will still be less than last year's. Mid-States had been feeding inmates last year at a cost of about $1.04 per meal, but Aramark's bid lowered that cost to about 86 cents per meal. But those savings came at a cost. In addition to running out of bread on more than one occasion and running out of ground beef on taco day, Anderson said there were concerns about cleanliness and food safety. During the Aramark contract, inmates filed an average of 40 complaints about food a day, compared with a previous average of about 40 a year, Anderson said. On Feb. 17, commissioners voted to give Aramark 30 days to correct the problems or face termination of the contract. That period ends March 22, the effective date of Aramark's resignation. County Purchasing Director Jack Beacham said Tuesday that Mid-States is expected to take over jail food operations by breakfast March 20. |
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