Chelan County Serving Award Winning Meals to Those Serving Time

Photo caption: Front row from the left to right; Theresa Gooch, kitchen lead; Joanne Richards, kitchen lead; Gwen Martin and Benchawan Woodworth.  Back row from left to right; Shannon Lee; Chris Sharp, jail director; and Betty Reeves.

The culinary staff at the Chelan County Regional Justice Center was recently honored as the 2024 Department of the Year Award. The six member staff was nominated by their peers who work at the county jail and the team received a letter of appreciation from jail Director Chris Sharp, according to a Chelan County newsletter.

“They consistently deliver exceptional results and demonstrate incredible teamwork,” said Sharp, reading from the letter of appreciation. “Every member is a hardworking, industrious employee who makes the other departments’ jobs easier.”

“We are proud of the meals that we serve,” said kitchen lead Theresa Gooch.

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The patrons enjoying their food may be a captive audience so to speak, but serving  a good meal pays dividends in ways you might not suspect.

When inmates are happy, there is less bickering and fighting that is a concern among people living under stress in close quarters, jail officials say. 

Ask the staff and they will concede, receiving visitors and three squares a day are the things inmates most look forward to.

The Chelan County kitchen crew proudly served over 151,000 meals in 2024, feeding approximately 200 people daily. Chelan County Regional Jail's meal program is well known at other facilities.  It takes a full day of work to feed the jail population with the kitchen staffed as early as 4 a.m., and cleaning up around 7 p.m.

A group of incarcerated individuals assist the kitchen staff with food prep, washing dishes and helping with the meal service.

Joanne Richards, co-lead in the kitchen with Gooch says the inmates take the job seriously.

“We are happy to have them in the kitchen,” Richards said. “They are very respectful.”

The house specialties or favorites, according to feedback from the incarcerated are; a tator tot casserole, pozole, pancakes, and biscuits and gravy. Some homemade recipes are also a hit;  Benchawan Woodworth's fried rice the spaghetti sauce by Shannon Lee.