A St. Michael company will be in charge of providing the meal service for Freeborn County jail inmates starting in January, after the county board approved the bid Tuesday.

The contract means a major change in the meal-service system, transferring the authority from the sheriff to the county.

Under the current system, the county appropriates $10 per inmate per day to the Board of Prisoners, which Sheriff Don Nolander represents. The expense is calculated by the number of inmates, regardless of the actual number of meals served, a practice some commissioners consider wasteful.

The new provider, New Horizons, will charge on a per-meal basis: Breakfast is $2.64, lunch $2.65, bag lunch $2.65 and dinner $2.65. The company has asked to use the kitchen facility in the jail, which is not used currently. The county will start examining the facility and replace equipment if necessary to start the new service on Jan. 6.