Carson culinary students help test prison food

With 1,450 inmates to feed at every meal in the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, Jim Burton knows the value of good food.

"Food is one of the most important things in prison," he said. "When you're pretty much satisfied with your food, you're in a better mood. If a guy gets something bad he's more likely to go off on a guard or on another inmate."

Burton, on a team with officials from the Nevada Department of Corrections and the State Purchasing Department, set out this week to find the best food for the best value.

They enlisted the help of the Carson High School culinary department to test samples from different food suppliers bidding for the contract.

"The state requires you to have a neutral, outside party to participate," explained Dawn Rosenberg, chief of purchasing for the corrections department. "We thought it would be beneficial, because the high school has this culinary program, to utilize their resources if they were willing."

Students from the state's winning management team prepared various types of food, then analyzed the content.

For instance, they cooked 10 pounds and 5 ounces of ground beef Tuesday, then drained off the grease. They measured 4.5 pounds of waste.

"When they're charging you per pound, you're talking 50 percent waste," said culinary arts teacher Penny Reynolds.

Students also prepared three sheets of yellow cake, made from different mixes. The panel of prison and state officials rated them on appearance, texture and taste.

"The one that looks good doesn't taste as good," Rosenberg concluded. "The one that looks funky is better."

Jessica Sundquist, 17, headed up the process as part of her senior project. Although she's interested in banking and finance, she said she's considering a career in culinary arts.

"Me and my mom would love to own a restaurant someday," she said.

This project provided good insight beyond cooking.

"It's a lot more work than anyone thinks it is," she said. "It's a lot harder to manage and do inventory and deal with vendors."

Burton said he was happy to have the chance to work out the kinks beforehand, rather than discovering them in the kitchen with hungry inmates waiting for a meal.

"It saves some problems, definitely," he said. "We're not looking for the best, we're just looking for something that's decent."

- Contact reporter Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1272.