Carbon County will welcome a former food service provider back to the correctional facility next month.

Last week, the board of commissioners approved awarding the three-year food service contract to Trinity Services Group, opting for the option 2 pricing format, a scaled price based on the number of inmates being housed at the facility at once. There are currently approximately 150 inmates at the facility in Nesquehoning.

The new food contract begins June 1.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner outlined the board’s decision regarding the bids, explaining that option 1 was for a set per meal price, based on 164,250 meals served annually; while option 2 had a sliding scale for per meal price based on the number of inmates.

He pointed out that Trinity’s bid was lower than current provider Aramark Correctional Services LLC’s in both options.

Trinity had bid $1,486,134, while Aramark bid $1,548,220.50. Both of those figures represent the cost under option 1.

Under option 2, Trinity’s cost decreases to approximately $1,313,835.75 based on current inmate figures and represents approximately a $235,384 difference from Aramark’s option 2 figures.

“We were looking for scale pricing because as the inmate count goes up ... the price per meal comes down,” Ahner said.

He added that while he knows there had been previous complaints about the food served by Trinity, the county has worked to change the calorie count to 2,800 per day, and types of products being served.

“Hopefully we’re on the way to saving money and getting better food in the facility,” Ahner said.