SUNBURY - More inmates reportedly returned to the food tables Tuesday at Northumberland County Prison after some refused to eat Monday in protest over the quality of food.
Northumberland County Commissioner Stephen Bridy, who serves as prison board chairman, said more inmates ate their meals Tuesday than Monday, but he did not have any specific numbers and didn't know if the protest had been quelled. Bridy visited the prison Monday afternoon to check on the situation after being informed about the strike by an outside source.
Bridy said, "By law, we have to provide 2,000 calories per day per inmate. But we provide 2,800 calories per day per inmate."
Efforts to reach Warden Roy Johnson or operations commander Brian Wheary on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Johnson previously reported the protest was instigated by a state inmate being temporarily housed at the prison on North Second Street. He said if prisoners did not resume eating their meals, their commissary-purchased snacks would be confiscated.
The strike reportedly occurred when inmates in one of the wings decided the food wasn't adequate, prompting about half the prisoners in the wing to skip breakfast and lunch. There are approximately 230 inmates housed in the prison's two wings.
Johnson told The Daily Item on Monday that three or four food strikes have occurred in the past two years at the prison.
The warden said he heard that inmates complained about under-cooked beans and cold oatmeal.
On Monday, the warden said he was hopeful the initial steps used to stop the food strike will work.
Aramark, of Philadelphia, is contracted by the county to provide food services to the inmates. The company provides the food and several employees to work in the kitchen.
Johnson said about eight inmates prepare the food. The cost is $1.33 per meal.
The warden said he wasn't sure how many of the uneaten meals were thrown away Monday.