Michigan Inmates Served Literal Garbage From Food Vendor, Meat Products Were Removed From Trash

Inmates in a Saginaw, Michigan Prison were reportedly served actual garbage from the kitchen trash, as directed by the contracted food vendor. Aramak is accused of serving food that was retrieved from the garbage last October. Aramark employees allegedly retrieved meatballs and other meat products from the garbage in an attempt to ensure there was enough food for all inmates to eat. The employee threw the food away, before realizing that there were still more prisoners that had not eaten. Rather than take the time to prepare more food, he simply retrieved the meat from the trash and rinsed them off before reheating the items and ordering the inmate servers to dish out the tainted food.

According to CBS Detroit, the inmate workers refused to allow the tainted food to be served to other inmates. In response to the alleged garbage food, they filed a complaint against Aramark for the incident. In the meantime, Aramark employees stepped in and served the trash food regardless of where it had been.

Chris Gautz, a spokesperson, shared that the incident should never have happened in the first place.

“Obviously it shouldn’t have happened. It’s a health-code violation.”

As a result, the Aramark employee that made the error has been released from his position and is no longer employed with the food vendor.

Although the employee no longer works for Aramark, the company’s tarnished reputation is already marred with horrific incidents in the recent past. Yahoo News reported that last year in Ohio, maggots were found in various meals. In Kentucky, the low quality of the food actually instigated riots among the prisoners as a means to get their points across that the quality was not suitable for human consumption. Even back in 2008, a report from Florida states that nearly 270 inmates received food poisoning form food served by Aramark.

Amidst the controversial incident in the Michigan prison, the Daily News in Memphis has reported that Aramark has been approved to serve food at the Shelby County Corrections Center. The deal will last at least two years, according to the contract that is worth $3.6 million.

Despite the incident in Saginaw, Governor Rick Snyder has defended the use of Aramark in the prison system. He claims that using the food vendor is saving nearly $14 million per year, in comparison to the amount paid to the 370 state employees that were laid off due to the outsourcing. Since the contract began, over 36 Aramark employees have been banned from serving food in the prison system.

[Photo by: Andrew Burton/Getty Images]