Sheriff’s office sour on jail Nutraloaf settlement

A concoction including poultry, vegetables and beans, biscuit mix and something called “dairy blend,” Nutraloaf is served in jails and prisons across the country

January 21, 2013 04:40 AM

Variations of Nutraloaf, like this one made in Vermont, are common in jails across the nation, including Milwaukee County. They generally are made with carrots, cabbage and “dairy blend.” To prison officials, it’s a complete meal. To inmates, it’s a food so awful they’d rather go hungry than eat it.

By John Diedrich
JSOnline

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The drama over whether the Milwaukee County Jail’s stomach-turning fare for ill-behaved prisoners amounts to cruel and unusual punishment has come to a lackluster finish.

That’s leaving a sour taste for the Milwaukee County sheriff’s office, which hoped to take the case to a four-day trial starting Monday. Now it’s stuck on the sidelines after an eleventh-hour settlement by an insurance company representing the maker of the county jail’s infamous “Nutraloaf.”

A concoction including poultry, vegetables and beans, biscuit mix and something called “dairy blend,” Nutraloaf is served in jails and prisons across the country.

But in Milwaukee County, armed robber Terrance Prude, who is serving a 100-year sentence, sued, saying the Nutraloaf he was served was rancid, making him so violently ill he lost 14 pounds over 19 days.

The settlement terms have not been released, but a commander in the sheriff’s office said it was a five-figure settlement handed out by the insurer for Aramark, which makes Nutraloaf for Milwaukee County’s jail and others around the country. Aramark officials did not return calls for comment, nor did attorneys representing the county.

Full story: Sheriff’s office sour on jail Nutraloaf settlement