HUNTSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Scott County Sheriff's Department has found a way to save money that inmates are actually happy about.

For the first time in a decade, inmates are getting meals cooked in-house instead of frozen, packaged meals.

Lt. Mike Wilson told WATE (http://bit.ly/TnnR5J) the change implemented earlier this year already has saved the department $60,000. Next year it is expected to save $100,000.

The new Scott County Justice Center that was built in 2008 included a kitchen, but until this year it was never used.

Valley Foods charges the sheriff's department $1.38 per meal. The frozen meals were more than twice that price.

The new service also reduces waste.

The department previously ordered thousands of meals at once, and sometimes several hundred would go bad before they were eaten.

Information from: WATE-TV, http://www.wate.com/

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