Photo above: In the front, from the left, are Theresa Gooch, kitchen lead; Joanne Richards, kitchen lead; Gwen Martin and Benchawan Woodworth. In the back, from the left, are Shannon Lee; Chris Sharp, jail director; and Betty Reeves. Watch the video of when the ladies were presented with their awards.
Regional Justice Center’s kitchen staff honored with Department of the Year
If you ask the ladies working in the kitchen of the Chelan County Regional Justice Center, there are two things the incarcerated look forward to more than anything: Visits from family and friends and dinner time. Or lunch time. Or breakfast.
When incarcerated people are happy, that cuts down on the bickering and fighting that can come with living in such close quarters. On top of that, many people booked into the county jail aren’t eating well on the outside.
This combination of providing tasty and healthy meals goes a long way in a jail.
“We are proud of the meals that we serve,” said kitchen lead Theresa Gooch.
The kitchen crew at the Regional Justice Center was honored recently with the 2024 Department of the Year Award. Gathered in the jail’s kitchen, the six-woman crew, nominated by their peers at the jail, was given a letter of appreciation by jail Director Chris Sharp.
“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.”
The ladies in the kitchen are a tight bunch. The veteran of the group is Gooch with 18 years of experience at the jail. The newbie is Shannon Lee with two years. Four of them are former school lunch ladies. Others have restaurant experience. They served more than 151,000 meals last year, feeding nearly 200 people a day. And together they’ve built a meal program that is talked about around the state.
“When I’m at conferences, I often hear ‘What are you guys doing over there? All the inmates talk about how great the food is at the Chelan County jail,’” Sharp said.
Work for the early shift starts around 4 a.m., with the later shift leaving about 7 p.m. They will prepare two full meals a day, with a sack lunch at midday. On this day it was oatmeal, toast and an apple for breakfast and tacos with rice and beans for dinner.
Among the favorites with the incarcerated are meals people may serve their own families, including tator tot casserole, pozole, pancakes, and biscuits and gravy. The incarcerated also favor recipes the ladies bring from home, including fried rice by Benchawan Woodworth and a tasty spaghetti sauce by Lee.
“We serve a lot of comfort foods,” Lee said.
A group of about seven incarcerated individuals assist the crew daily in the kitchen. They are there to prep food, wash dishes and fill the trays and carts used to serve the meals. Working alongside the incarcerated took some time to get used to, said Joanne Richards, who shares the title of kitchen lead with Gooch. But they take their jobs seriously.
“We are happy to have them in the kitchen,” Richards said. “They are very respectful.”
What does it take to be a member of the kitchen crew?
Along with a basic knowledge of cooking, you have to have a sense of pride in your work and enjoy working on a team, they said.
“They are the epitome of teamwork,” Sharp said of the crew. “As a leader in our organization, I couldn’t be prouder to have a team that puts out the product that they do, that puts out the effort that they do.”
Last Updated: 04/08/2025 10:57 AM
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PLEASE NOTE: FTP browsing is no longer supported on the latest browsers, please refer below to acccess our FTP content.
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The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
By clicking continue, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this disclaimer.
The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
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