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A Sticky State of Affairs

Prisoners can be picky about what they eat, but even hardened criminals would probably think it a stretch for California to declare a state of emergency when its prisons run out of peanut butter and jelly.

Prisoners can be picky about what they eat, but even hardened criminals would probably think it a stretch for California to declare a state of emergency when its prisons run out of peanut butter and jelly.

Yet that's just what the state did in June when purchasers at the Department of General Services got into a contract spat with a food supplier. California prisons, it seems, pack plastic peanut butter and jelly "squeezers" in lunch bags for prisoners who have off-site jobs. When this year's squeezer contract went to bid, the state altered its specifications: It wanted perforations in the plastic so that inmates could rip off the jelly or peanut butter portion and save it for later. The previous squeezer vendor, ABC Ventures, came in with the lowest bid but its supplier inadvertently sent California un- perforated samples. So the state gave the contract to a competitor.

Adam Clingerman, who runs ABC Ventures out of his home, protested the award. In response, General Services nullified the disputed contract and invoked its "emergency authority." Arguing that a PB&J shortage threatened public safety, the state awarded an interim contract--again to the competing vendor. Thomas Jovero, a member of a prison food task force, defended the call. "Many inmates are heavily invested emotionally in the routine availability of certain types of food," he wrote in an affidavit. "Prominent among these foods is peanut butter and jelly for religious and vegetarian inmates."

Sacramento County Judge Joe Gray didn't buy it. In July, he issued an injunction against the emergency contract. As the case proceeds, the state is again taking bids for the squeezers, but this time Clingerman, who stocked lockups with 11.5 million servings of PB&J last year, says he is sure to send the right samples. "I can't believe I'm suing the state because my bid would have saved $175,000."

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