Mike Reddick, 25, serves up lunch trays to inmates in their cells on Friday afternoon at the Lewis County Jail in Chehalis. Friday's lunch consisted of fresh corn, a grilled cheese sandwich and a stew-like soup.
The 205 people incarcerated in the Lewis County Jail on Friday ate a grilled cheese sandwich, soup and corn for lunch. Each individual meal likely cost taxpayers $1.42, which was the average expense per meal in 2011.
After observing that some of the inmates, especially those incarcerated with high bail as they await a delayed trial date, become noticeably chubbier with each court appearance. The Chronicle decided to go behind the scenes and find out what the inmates at the Lewis County Jail were eating.
The tour of the jail kitchen, in addition to interviews with several inmates, revealed that while many of them complain about the food, most leave jail heavier than they came in, and eat better than they would out of custody.
The annual budget for the jail kitchen was $350,000 in 2011, and that year the mostly-inmate staff of the industrial-sized kitchen prepared nearly 250,000 meals, averaging a little less than 600 meals a day.
While there are three paid staff members, most people who work in the kitchen staff are inmates, said Lt. Jim Pea from the Lewis County Jail. Jails often rely on inmate labor as a way to cut costs. Inmates bake the bread, cut the vegetables and wash the food trays.
The inmates who work in the kitchen are considered to be low risk, and the job a privilege, he said. Between six and eight inmates work at a time in the kitchen.
Lard and Lack of Exercise = Weight Gain
Though the inmates are given relatively small portions, the food on the tray is packed with calories as a lot of it is made with lard and butter to ensure it meets the nutritional requirements. Each meal ranges between 500 and 800 calories.
Given the food and the lack of activity (inmates get an hour in the exercise “pen,” which is a large courtyard they can walk around in), it’s not uncommon for inmates to gain weight while serving time in jail, Pea said.
“Some of them leave here with a little more than they came in with,” Pea said.
Another factor is substance abuse, he said. Inmates who abused drugs or alcohol prior to serving time end up gaining weight with a regular diet. In addition, many inmates did not eat three meals a day prior to incarceration.
Matthew Babikoff, who nearing the end of his 90-day sentence for drug possession and a hit-and-run collision, said he was booked into jail at 192 pounds. He now weighs approximately 215.
Babikoff, who works in the jail kitchen, said part of the reason his three-month, 20-pound weight gain is that he eats more consistently than he did outside of jail. He also gets extra portions of food for working in the kitchen.
Despite the regularity of his meals, Babikoff, made it clear he was not a fan of the jail food. “I definitely wouldn’t order it in a restaurant,” he said.
Poached Meat, Cold Lunches and Grumpy Inmates
During The Chronicle’s tour of the jail kitchen Friday morning, the kitchen staff were preparing Friday’s mid-day meal, which is the only day of the week inmates get a warm lunch, said Janice Brotherson, who is employed by Consolidated Food Management and has worked as the manager in the Lewis County Jail kitchen for the last 19 years. Every other day, lunch is a cold sandwich, which has been a tradition that began when John McCroskey was sheriff in the mid-1990s.
The corn in Friday’s lunch was given to the jail kitchen in bulk, and is one of many foods that is donated to the kitchen, Brotherson said.
In the past, she said, they used to receive elk and deer meat that were either seized from poachers or were roadkill. The animals would be cut up by a professional butcher, then donated to the jail in an attempt to save the county money on food expenses. The jail also used to receive donations of poached salmon. All those donations have declined over the years.
While most people would be excited about eating elk or salmon, she said, ironically salmon and elk were one of the most complained about foods by the inmates.
Though formal complaints about the food are rare, Brotherson said, there is often grumbling about the portion sizes as well as the type of food served.
Babikoff, who also serves the trays of food to inmates after preparing it in the kitchen, said he frequently hears inmates complaining about the meals.
“If you don’t like it, don’t go to jail,” Babikoff said.
Inmate Rehab: Baking
As budget cuts to the corrections systems continue to affect rehabilitation programs offered to inmates, the kitchen in the Lewis County Jail, however, offers a baking certification for qualified inmates.
Aaron E. Elliot, who was a butcher before he was arrested for violating a protection order and was sentenced to six months and one week in jail, said he never baked anything prior to being booked into jail.
Elliot, whose arms and neck are covered in tattoos, said he spent the past several months of baking cookies, bread and other food from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day.
Elliot assists in baking the 30 to 50 loaves of bread a day used to feed the upward of 200 inmates for their daily cold sandwich lunch. He said he can now bake from scratch, and when he is released this Thursday, he will have the certificate to prove it.
“I had a great teacher,” he said, indicating Brotherson, who taught him the skills for the certification. “I’m proud of getting it.”
Elliot is one of the handful of inmates who have participated in this program and when he is released from jail he will leave with his food-handler’s card and a baking certificate.
Elliot said after he is released this week, hopes to get a job using the baking skills learned, acknowledging it might be tough considering his tattoos.
