Cool treats of appreciation at prison
Frozen yogurt gets served to staff by AV Mall business
LANCASTER — It was a colorful, flavorful and frozen staff appreciation day at California State Prison Los Angeles County on Friday afternoon that also helped support a local business hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prison officials treated their staff with 1,000 cups of frozen yogurt from Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt in the Antelope Valley Mall.
The frozen flavors include vegan/dairy free options such lemon, pineapple, and fruit punch sorbet. No sugar options included vanilla bean and strawberry shortcake. Regular frozen yogurt included traditional flavors such as vanilla and chocolate. There was also cake batter and green apple tart flavors. Staff members could also add any toppings to their yogurt.
All employees and visitors had their temperatures checked and were screened for symptoms as they entered visitor processing center.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity to help staff cool off for the day and help a local business,” said Lt. Karla Graves, public information officer for the prison.
Menchies owner Eric Ghiselli previously donated between 300 to 400 cups of yogurt to the prison.
“Business has been rough. These are difficult, challenging times we’ve all been fac
ing as a community.” Ghiselli said.
Although the inside of the Antelope Valley Mall is closed, the anchor stores and restaurants on the outside are still open.
“We have a few tables outside,” Ghiselli said.
Warden R.C. Johnson said they appreciated it when Ghiselli donated yogurt previously to them.
“He donated to us just out of the blue. We truly appreciated that,” Johnson said. Yogurt is a tasty treat. “It’s something that’s simple and everybody likes,” Johnson said.