The Warren County Board of Supervisors on Monday listened to a proposal for a new food vendor at the Warren County Jail.

Kentucky-based Kellwell Food Management sent a letter to the jail stating its intent to terminate the company’s contract effective on Feb. 20. According to Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace, the company indicated that Warren County was too far for their drivers to continue supplying food from its facility.

“They were no longer able to provide services to our facility because of the distance they had to travel to provide the food,” Pace said. “Kellwell served us well for quite some time, and the letter they sent made it clear that they did not serve any other locations near Warren County.”

According to Warren County Purchasing Agent Penny Evans, the next vendor on the list is Tiger Correctional Services out of Jonesville, Ala. The company will provide meals to inmates for an average of $2.36 per meal for a population 91 to 120 inmates.

Tiger Correctional Service’s rate is slightly higher than the previous contractor’s rate, Evans said, as Kellwell charged $1.98 per meal for a comparable inmate population.

“The cost of trucking and food has gone up,” Evans said. 

Tiger Correctional Services is also the food vendor for the Hinds County Jail inmates, and the company will conduct a site visit to Warren County on Feb. 3.

Pace said measures are in place to ensure the transition to the new contractor will be seamless.

“We expect to have a smooth transition, and food service to inmates will not be interrupted,” he said.