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>> Statement: [Page 273]

The contrast with the other Sea Org members is stark.

They eat in a mess hall, which features a meat-and-potatoes diet and a salad bar, except for occasional extended periods of rice and beans. The average cost per meal as of 2005 (according to Headley, who participated in the financial planning each week) was about 75 cents a head – significantly less than what is spent per inmate in the California prison system.

>> True Information: This is completely false.  First, the staff does not eat in a “mess hall.”  The execs and crew dine in a beautiful lodge called MCI—Massacre Canyon Inn—which is the original name of the lodge that the Church inherited when it purchased the resort property in 1978. The Church restored and greatly upgraded the facility and made it what it is today. Over the last two decades, all improvements for the staff dining lodge and kitchen (as well as all facilities on the Base) have been initiated by Mr. Miscavige (something he has traditionally done whenever he visits a Sea Org base anywhere in the world due to his care for the execs and crew of the Sea Organization).

All of the staff at the Golden Era Production Base eat in the dining facility and have since the Church moved into the property, including Mr. Miscavige when he is on the Base. The meals are not “a meat-and-potatoes diet” or “rice and beans” as portrayed by Mr. Wright. Weekly menu planning has been a tradition in the Sea Org since its formation. It is done every week and ensures all staff are provided with healthy, well-balanced meals. There is also a fresh vegetable salad bar, as well as additional food for the staff who want an alternative to the main course.

With regard to the average cost per meal as of 2005 for Sea Org members at the Gold Base, Claire Headley made the “75 cents a head” number out of whole cloth. That has never been the case. Moreover, Claire Headley was removed from her position in RTC in November 2004 and was not part of any financial planning for RTC or any other organization at the Gold Base. She abandoned her last post on January 24, 2005 and left the Sea Org.

The true figure for food allocation in 2005 averaged around $18,000 per week for approximately 500 staff. The advantage of feeding that many staff each week was that bulk purchasing could be done, saving an enormous about of money. For example, the Base goes through 645 dozen organic fresh eggs per week at a cost of about $2.50 per dozen compared to about $4.00 per dozen in a grocery store. Nearly all of the food served at the Base is organic and the beef is Meyer natural beef.

In terms of the quality of service and preparation at the Base, County officials from the Department of Environmental Health periodically inspect the dining facilities and kitchen unannounced.  Our inspections always pass with an “A” rating.  See our certificate of recent inspection where we received a 100% pass, as well as awards “In recognition of outstanding food facility performance” (presented to those who have maintained a score of 95% or above in each of their routine inspections for the entire year).

>> Declaration

The staff is provided with healthy, well-balanced meals