State board OKs contract to privatize prison food

LANSING (AP) -- A state committee has approved Gov. Rick Snyder's plan to privatize food service for the state's 45,000 prison inmates under a $145 million, 3-year contract. The Detroit Free Press reports that the State Administrative Board on Tuesday ratified a contract with Aramark Correctional Services of Philadelphia. The contract is expected to eliminate 370 Corrections Department jobs. The Snyder administration has said the change could cut prison food service costs by 20 percent, or about $16 million a year. The board must approve all state contracts worth at least $250,000. Unions representing Corrections Department employees spoke against the contract at Tuesday's meeting in Lansing. The department employs about 14,700 people, or more than a quarter of the stat workforce. Published: Thu, Sep 26, 2013