A federal judge dismissed a $1.5 million lawsuit brought last year by a group of Schuylkill County prison inmates who argued the jail food wasn’t nutritious, that some of it was rotten, snack prices were too high and that the portions were too small.

United States Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Blewitt filed a recommendation on Nov. 10, 2014, that the suit be dismissed.“We find that plaintiffs’ willful failure to comply with the court’s orders demonstrates they have abandoned their case,” he wrote.The case was closed on Dec. 17, 2014.The 46 inmates filed the suit on May 20, 2014, in U.S. District Court, Scranton, against Warden Eugene Berdanier, kitchen director Alicia Watson, Gregory Beniston of Trinity Food Services, President Judge William Baldwin, Capt./CO William Flannery, Deputy Warden David Wapinsky, all guards and the county.The 14-page suit asked for the $1.5 million to be divvied up among the inmates for their “pain and suffering,” that a new kitchen contractor be hired and that commissary snack prices be reduced.The suit alleged that portions were too small and that inmates were losing weight. Commissary food items were priced too high, higher than in other prisons, inmates argued.Inmates rely on the commissary items to keep from starving, the suit said.Baldwin, at a May 2014 prison board meeting, asked Berdanier to have the dietitian from the county nursing home at Rest Haven review the menu to make sure it contains adequate calories and nutrients.“They would just look at the menu, not at what’s actually served. If the menu meets dietary requirements, and they are giving what’s on the menu, that doesn’t necessarily mean you get as much as you want,” Baldwin said.He also asked Berdanier to check the portions, and to have the dietitian review the menu on an unpredictable schedule.But even if the food meets set nutritional standards, not everyone will be happy.“We’ve always had complaints about prison food, it’s not like being home,” Baldwin said. “For somebody used to snacking all the time, it’s a transition.”