Shawano County will not outsource its jail food service after the public safety committee reviewed proposals from four companies Nov. 5.
Bids were received from Skillet, Summit, Consolidated Correctional and Trinity. Summit provided two options.
“Right away, the first thing you can probably see is the cost savings; however, to get into it, it’s not what it’s all cracked up to be,” said Troy Beyer, jail administrator.
With an average daily inmate population of 175 minus 10 kosher diets, kitchen staff prepare meals for 165 people each day.
In 2026, the county budgeted $634,000 for the program.
“We are budgeting for one food service director and four cooks,” Beyer said. “Trinity and Skillet came in with one food service director and two cooks. They believe they can run the kitchen with three people. I don’t think that’s feasible.”
Trinity’s two-cook proposal was $187,000 less than what the county budgeted, and Skillet’s proposal had a savings of $90,000.
Trinity has no other staff in the area and only a handful in Wisconsin, Beyer said. Skillet only has staff in River Falls.
Summit offered two options, each with a food service director, but one option had three cooks and the other had four cooks.
The three-cook option would generate a savings of $21,000 from what is budgeted for 2026.
However, if the county eliminates one of the four cook positions, that would result in a savings of $55,000 – more than the Summit savings.
“For ’25, we’ve already been down most of the year,” Beyer said. “We’ve been operating with three cooks and one food service director already.”
Talks with the finance department and human resources resulted in an agreement to eliminate the fourth cook position in 2026. Beyer said tinkering with the schedule would make the situation work throughout the year.
Consolidated Correctional’s proposal, with four cooks, was nearly $13,000 above what the county budgeted for 2026.
Beyer also said that if things change and the county can’t find the necessary staff, he would recommend contacting Summit to see how the company could help.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
