SCI Huntingdon to provide meals to Huntingdon County Prison

Harrisburg, PA – The State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Huntingdon will provide Huntingdon County Prison with inmate and employee meals at a cost of $2 per meal, payable on a monthly basis to the Department of Corrections (DOC). This cooperative, one-year agreement is expected to save the county prison approximately $260,000. The new arrangement will take effect on January 1, 2016.
“This is the first time that the DOC has entered into this type of an agreement with a county prison,” Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said.  “We’re already making food in large quantities, so adding several hundred more is not a huge undertaking.  This cooperative arrangement makes sense and saves cents.”
“I can’t say enough about the secretary and everyone who was involved,” said Huntingdon County Commissioner Jeff Thomas.  “John (Sec. Wetzel) was amazing.  This plan is good for the county, and it will really benefit the citizens of Huntingdon County.  It was very gratifying to see the level of intergovernmental cooperation that made this happen. Good things happen when people work together!”
Food service staff and inmates at SCI Huntingdon will make meals as usual, based upon the DOC’s rotating four-week menu cycle.  The food will be delivered every day to the county prison daily using insulated transport containers provided by the county prison.
Should SCI Huntingdon be locked down for any reason which would affect food preparation, the agreement calls for the state prison to provide the county prison with brown bag meals.  Menu substitutions also may be implemented automatically by SCI Huntingdon as driven by current market prices.  The meals provided are analyzed for nutritional adequacy by the DOC’s certified dietitian.  Upon request, therapeutic or religious diet meals may be provided based on the department’s therapeutic or religious diet menus and policy.
According to the agreement, the county prison will provide SCI Huntingdon with a meal count for each day as well as any needs for therapeutic or religious diet meals or bag lunches needed for that day.  Once SCI Huntingdon delivers the food to the county prison, the county prison becomes responsible for any loss, damage or spoilage of the food.  The county prison has the necessary refrigerators to store cold food properly and heating elements to keep hot foods hot.  The county prison will maintain responsibility for all sanitary conditions at its facility.