The inmate-run program that provides Tennessee prisons with food may be in jeopardy of running out of money, according to findings from a new state audit.Financial mismanagement that led to the firing of at least two officials and the loss of millions of dollars is also jeopardizing the future of the Tennessee prison food program, according to an extensive new audit.
The Tennessee Comptroller’s 84-page audit outlines months of problems between the Tennessee Rehabilitative Initiative in Correction Board (TRICOR) and the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), including allegations TRICOR staff tried to mislead its board about the agency’s finances. Documents obtained by the auditors also allude to concerns with both the size and healthiness of meals served in prison.
Those concerns mirror complaints received by The Tennessean from inmates and their families. TRICOR notes the state aimed to save money through “portion control.” While TRICOR depicts the change in meal portions as a benefit, it also notes that officers who eat prison meals don’t follow the same portion control guidelines created for inmates. The agency also acknowledges there’s a chance for “prison unrest” because of a “drastic change in the food service program.”
Read more from our news partners at The Tennessean.