Select inmates learn trade while in jail

A few inmates will soon be able to take credit for what comes out of the McHenry County Jail's kitchen.

Under the IN2WORK program, between two and four inmates locked up for nonviolent offenses will learn the ins and outs of food service, in hopes of landing jobs in the food industry once they are released.

It's a pilot program authorities hope to keep around for two years.

“One of the things you always want to do in a correctional facility ... is some rehabilitation work, said McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren. “Obviously, they're going to be leaving here ... this gives them something which could help break the cycle of incarceration.

Aramark, the prison's food service provider, runs and finances the program that is making its Illinois debut in McHenry County, authorities said.

Aramark declined to release a dollar amount for the program. It is a privately held company and, as such, does not release financial information, spokeswoman Sarah Jarvis said.

After going through an in-house selection process that includes lengthy interviews, the chosen inmates will start learning basic skills about safe food preparation, cooking and customer service.

Training starts Nov. 1, runs eight hours a day and includes classroom and field work.

Part of the field work puts inmates in the prison kitchen where they help cooks prepare between 1,500 and 1,800 meals served there daily.

Their duties would range from washing dishes to fixing meals and cleaning up.

In exchange for their work, the inmates receive coffee, double portions of food, a free haircut, an extra weekly visit and $1 a day that's deposited into an account, authorities said.

For security reasons, the prison is limiting the pilot program to men, Nygren said.

“There will absolutely be opportunities for female inmates to get into a program, Nygren said.

Once they complete the training and pass the tests, the inmates would receive Aramark and ServSafe certifications that authorities say will help them qualify for food service jobs once they walk out of prison.

“It's a step above what a lot of cooks would have, said Shawn King, Aramark's food service director at the McHenry County Jail. “If somebody came in to apply (for an Aramark job) it would definitely put them to the front of the line.

Aramark developed the initiative in 1999 and today runs 67 similar programs in 18 states, including California, Texas and Kentucky, Jarvis said.

In the past year, more than 1,000 students graduated from the program. But Aramark doesn't track whether the inmates actually found food-service jobs after their release, Jarvis said.