By Ann Sanner
COLUMBUS — College students might think their dining hall food tastes like prison grub. In Ohio, that could become reality.
Looking for ways to save money, the state’s correction department and Ohio State University are exploring whether to buy food jointly and in bulk.
Sure, not all the dining options of prison and college are identical. Sushi isn’t served in the slammer; it is on campus.
But despite the prison grub reputation in popular culture as slop slapped on a plate, food served behind bars and on campuses may not be all that different now.
Tacos, pasta and pizza are dished out in the cafeterias of prisons and the university alike, with some overlapping ingredients even though the recipes probably differ.
That’s a menu lineup that stands in contrast to the images in Ohio State senior Ben Wallace’s head — though the 23-year-old biology major admits his knowledge of prison meals comes from the movie “The Shawshank Redemption.”
“I would just imagine that it’s more canned food and stuff that’s preserved,” said Wallace, of Findlay.
Budget woes have cash-strapped states such as Ohio searching for extra bucks. In Connecticut, the governor has proposed a budget that raises taxes on everything from personal income to haircuts. Florida’s governor wants to reduce fees paid to Medicare providers such as hospitals and nursing homes.
Still, inmates and students at one of the nation’s largest universities noshing on the same eats?
It’s possible, Ohio State spokeswoman Shelly Hoffman said. “But eggs are eggs, milk is milk, bread is bread,” she said.
No other states have prisons and universities buying food together or considering such plans, as far as the National Conference of State Legislatures knows.
Ohio State and the prison system are in the early stages of drafting a proposal, so it’s unknown which foods they could buy together. But both parties contend that a purchasing partnership wouldn’t make the meals less tasty or snacks less savory.
“It’ll change how much we spend on it,” Hoffman said. “It would not change quality.”
New Republican Gov. John Kasich wants to sell five state prisons to private operators. He also is proposing to cap university tuition increases at 3.5 percent, leading the schools to look for other ways to shore up money.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction could save $2 million a year by jointly buying its food with Ohio State University and changing its menus, spokesman Carlo LoParo said.
Until the proposal is completed, Hoffman said, it’s difficult for the university to know its savings. The school doesn’t anticipate slashing food prices as a result of any savings. Any extra dollars would go back into its “academic mission,” Hoffman said.
The idea was one of more than 1,000 suggestions made when the prison system asked its staff for ways to save money, LoParo said.
“We thought it was a good idea,” he said. “We explored it, and indeed we can.”
