A decision regarding outsourcing prison food service two years ago is continuing to save the taxpayers thousands, Carbon County officials report.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners approved a one-year renewal agreement with Trinity Services Group Inc. of Oldsmar, Florida, for food service at the Carbon County Correctional Facility in Nesquehoning, beginning Aug. 5.The cost per meal will increase from $1.365 to $1.406 per meal for a total of $289,000 for the service. The prison serves 206,000 meals annually.Commissioner William O'Gurek explained that the terms of the three-year contract with Trinity, which cost a total of $843,776 for the three years, netted the county approximate savings of $100,000 next year and saved a total of $345,000 from the time the contract was signed until now.Prior to the contract with Trinity, the county staffed and operated the prison kitchen at an annual cost of $388,190 or $1.88 per meal plus salaries and benefits for one part-time and two full-time cooks.In August 2012, the county weighed its options on outsourcing the kitchen service after then Warden Joseph Gross asked the prison board for additional help in the kitchen because staffing had become an issue.Robert Crampsie, county controller, investigated the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing the service and told the board that it could save money without compromising daily calorie requirements.The state requires that inmates receive approximately between 2,100 and 2,800 calories a day, Crampsie reported in 2012.In March 2013, the county hired Trinity, who took over operations, as well as some of the county kitchen staff, in August 2013.