food service suggesting sub- standard food, uncooked food, filthy trays, dirty utensils, foreign objects found in the food, food served at the wrong temperature, etc. Recent food poisoning incidents on death row might have been prevented had the prisons paid reasonable attention to the grievances which have been filed by the inmates, in accordance with Department of Corrections rules. However, the DOC chose to ignore such grievances, ostensibly on the basis that "because the food [mentioned on the grievance] had long since been discarded, no investigation [was] possible." While the DOC acknowledged the problem, no action was taken to investigate or remedy the problem.

The company under contract to provide food services to FL prisons is Aramark Correctional Services, Inc., a large PA based corporation which operates kitchen and commissary facilities in 325 correctional facilities in North America (as of 2002). According to the FL AFSCME website, in 2001, Aramark Corp. gave $42,000 to the GOP when Gov. Bush privatized prison food services. So far, Aramark has been fined $110,000 for serving spoiled meats and shortchanging services.

With the reports of food poisoning came reports that requests for medical treatment have been ignored or refused, once again indicating an unwillingness to deal with a problem which appears to be systemic, according to numerous complaints from both inmates and guards. It is difficult to understand why the DOC would apparently attempt to cover up for Aramark's failure to fulfill its contractual obligations, and accept unsafe food handling protocols within its institutions.

"The latest report we got was from death row, telling us the food stunk so bad that they could not eat it," said Hannah Floyd, of the Florida Death Row Advocacy Group. "These are human beings. They must eat. And recently they are being left with the choice to either eat and get sick, or go hungry to bed. This hurts not only the prisoners, but their relatives, and prison employees who then must deal with sick, hungry and angry people on a daily basis."

TAKE ACTION!

PLEASE CALL ARAMARK CORPORATION, which is contracted to provide food services in Florida prisoners. Please call the below named individuals and tell them in these or your own words:

#1 - I have heard that prisoners at Florida State Prison and Union Correctional Institution are being fed rotten food, and it is making them sick. Is that true?

#2 - Your web page ( http://www.aramark.com/industry.asp?industry=Correctional_In stitutions ) says: "Our focus is cost effective quality nutrition and improved systems reliability provided in a secured environment." If that is true, why have portions recently been cut, and why are prisoners getting sick?

#3 - For Governor Bush: "Are you aware that Aramark Corporation is providing substandard service to the State of Florida with regard to food services at prisons? Please investigate Aramark Corporation and find out why so many prisoners are getting food poisoning."

Governor Jeb Bush

Office of the Governor

The Capitol

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Help Desk: 850-488-4441

FAX (850) 487-0801

E-mail:

Alternate e-mail:

Debbie Albert

Senior Communications Director

ARAMARK Food & Support Services

Telephone: (215) 238-3614

Fax: (215)-413-8511

E-mail:

albert-debbie@ARAMARK.com

LOBBYIST NAME Aramark Correctional Services, Inc

Cunningham, Courtney . . . . . . . . . . . 305/444-4648

235 Catalonia Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134

Dudley, Charles F . . . . . . . . . . . . . 850/681-0024

315 S Calhoun St Ste 300, Tallahassee, FL 32301

********************

SENT BY:

Abraham J. Bonowitz

Director

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

(FADP)

800-973-6548 http://www.fadp.org

PMB 297, 177 U.S. Highway #1, Tequesta, FL 33469

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