Ohio jail sours on milk, will offer substitute

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Milk will be off the menu in the new year at one of Ohio’s big urban jails.

Starting Sunday, inmates at the Summit County Jail in Akron will be offered a powdered breakfast drink instead. Jail administrator Gary James tells the Akron Beacon Journal the milk alternative tastes like a vanilla milkshake.

The change is expected to save the county about $10,000 a year.

The jail in neighboring Stark County cut back on milk more than three years ago. Other Ohio jails have trimmed their budgets by cutting out inmate coffee or substituting less expensive foods.

Fred Wilson with the National Sheriffs’ Association says dropping milk is a good way for jails to be thrifty because money is wasted when milk spoils and must be thrown out.