Boston’s migrant shelter luxury: State pays $16 for breakfast, $17 for lunch and $31 for dinner as they live in hotels for free after entering the US illegally

New documents show the rising public costs of sheltering migrants in Massachusetts as the state grapples with pressure on its emergency shelter system.

The state has 17 contracts worth a total of $116 million to house migrant families through June, including a $10 million no-bid contract for a company that provides meals. CBS News Boston reported, with reference to documents obtained by the point of sale.

In some cases, the state is paying hotels $64 per person per day for meals, including $16 for breakfast, $17 for lunch and $31 for dinner.

Last August, Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey declared a state of emergency and said the state had more than 20,000 migrants in its shelter system.

Capacity overruns have necessitated the use of hotels for emergency shelter, but earlier this month the state opened a new 400-bed temporary facility at the Melnea Cass Recreational Center in Boston.

In some cases, the state pays hotels $64 per person per day for meals, including $16 for breakfast, $17 for lunch and $31 for dinner

Officials have yet to explain why the price of meals is so high

Massachusetts has 17 contracts worth a total of $116 million to house migrants through June, including in hotels like this one, as the state deals with an influx of migrants

Capacity overruns have necessitated the use of hotels like the above for emergency shelter, but earlier this month the state opened a new temporary facility with 400 beds.

It followed reports that migrants were forced to sleep on camp beds at Logan Airport, underscoring the humanitarian crisis and the strain on state resources.

Like New York, Massachusetts has a longstanding right-to-shelter law that requires the state to provide emergency shelter to families in desperate need.

The law requires that emergency shelters include basic cooking facilities, and if that is not the case, as in the case of some hotels, the state must step in and contract for food delivery.

CBS affiliate WBZ discovered that a catering supplier, Spinelli Ravioli Manufacturing Company in East Boston, had been awarded a six-month, $10 million, no-bid contract to supply and deliver meals.

“As an approved state supplier, Spinelli’s was contacted at the outbreak of the crisis,” the company told WBZ.

“We are not the exclusive meal supplier and do not have a guaranteed contract or financial agreement beyond this initial emergency period,” the statement said.

“We are currently in the bidding process for a sustainable contract and look forward to continuing to help the state and the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities achieve their goals.”

A spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on Monday morning.

Migrants are seen sleeping in at Boston’s Logan Airport, in the international terminal

The situation has become so dire that some families are taking action and opening their homes to migrant families struggling to find housing.

Jessica and Colin Stokes told us CBS News Boston that when they called the state to offer to host, less than an hour later a family of four showed up at their door.

The family the Stokes took in had slept at Logan Airport before the offer came through.

Jessica said the family was “nice.”

‘They are so grateful. It was amazing,” she said CBS News Boston.

The Stokes’ story comes as Massachusetts’ newest emergency shelter at the Cass Recreational Center in Roxbury reached its capacity of 400 people in just a week.

The creation of the shelter has displaced residents including the Boston United Track and Cross Country Club, which houses children from some of Boston’s poorest neighborhoods.

City officials are keeping their eyes peeled for the next building they can seize and convert into a migrant shelter.

Some are eyeing an office in the Boston Seaport, but others say the facility is inadequate.

Last August, Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey declared a state of emergency and said the state had more than 20,000 migrants in its shelter system.

Boston Councilman Ed Flynn said, “Having a place with no running water and no showers would be a non-starter for me.”

Jessica said she sympathizes with officials like Flynn, but she is disheartened that there aren’t better municipal systems in place to handle the influx of unexpected visitors.

“The dysfunction alone is really disheartening and I know people with good intentions are working as hard as they can, it’s an emergency. But it is disturbing to see the magnitude,” she said.

The couple said they hope to ensure that other families sacrifice their homes to help the migrants, as they have done.