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FROM THE PADDOCK TO THE PLATE

With the experience of servicing food requirements for over 30,000 meals each day CSI has the capabilities in food services that truly takes food from the paddock to the plate.

CSI has a high depth of capability in agriculture, food production, cooking, storage and servicing that can easily provide a private sector or government customer with the food service or food retail needs they require.

Each year almost 120,000 kilograms of fresh beef, 338,000 kilograms of processed vegetables, 1.3 million apples, 1.8 million litres of fresh milk, 1 million pies and sausage rolls and 1.5 million loaves of bread are produced by inmates working on farms or in CSI food processing and preparation business units. CSI also has HACCP Certification, which is world best practice in food safety in production processes for manufacturers of processed and packaged food. This isn't just a cost saving for Corrective Services NSW, but also offers inmates diverse training and employment opportunities in primary food production and food processing. Inmates participate in agriculture, hospitality (kitchen operations), food processing and business administration traineeships.

There are also short courses for inmates in workplace hygiene, food safety, horticulture, animal care and management. These training and employment opportunities will continue to expand as CSI's self- sufficiency initiative grows in the future.

For further information on our food products and services contact 02 4582 2420.

CSI grows vegetables for inmate rations at St Heliers Correctional Centre. The vegetable range varies from season to season and includes cabbage, broccoli, capsicum, onions, celery, potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, peas and tomatoes.

Each day, the CSI bakery business units at Long Bay and Wellington C.C's make approximately 6,000 sausage rolls, pies and baked lunches. Adding to their daily productivity, they also bake up to 6,000 desserts and 4,200 bread loaves and rolls.

CSI operates a food packing business unit at the John Morony Correctional Centre. Inmates collate non-perishable foodstuffs into individual breakfast packs for distribution to all NSW correctional centres.

Evening meals are prepared by a group of specialised CSI Food Services business units across NSW. Produce is cooked, then chilled before being sent out to NSW correctional centres. A new "cook-freeze" facility will open at the John Morony Correctional Centre in 2015.

Inmates at CSI Food Services business units around NSW prepare nearly 9,500 lunches per day. CSI Logistics deliver bread and baked goods produced in CSI bakeries to all NSW correctional centres.

Emu Plains Correctional Centre runs a dairy and milk processing business unit. It produces 5,000 litres of milk per day. There are 200 cows on the dairy farm. Up to 20 female inmates work in the dairy with an additional 15 in the milk processing unit.