State drops prisoner soda. Victory for Common Sense of Oregon

Prisoners Will No Longer Receive Free Soda Pop
Common Sense for Oregon,

Salem, Ore””On Tuesday of this week, the Department of Corrections announced that they will now serve inmates tea during meal service instead of soda pop, a decision that comes only months after Common Sense for Oregon brought attention to the budget item. In May, Common Sense handed the Department of Corrections a Golden Fleece award when it was discovered that approximately $775,000 of the Department’s budget was allocated for free soda pop at meal times at the expense of the taxpayers””an amount equivalent to putting three additional state troopers on patrol for two years.

“It is a relief to know that smarter decisions are being made with tax dollars,” says Ross Day, Director of Common Sense for Oregon. “Hopefully, the change within the Department of Corrections is just one of many spending improvements that will take place across state agencies.” According to KGW news, the prison states that they are also hoping that the beverage change will benefit the health of their prisoners, and in the long run, would lower health care costs as well. The change from soda pop to tea will go into effect December 31st.