SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ precarious budget situation has again prompted a company to stop doing business with the state.

Records show the Illinois Department of Corrections was forced to scramble this week when a vendor refused to deliver foam food trays to Menard Correctional Center because it hadn’t been paid.

Industrial Soap Co., which holds the master contract for the foam trays, “will not deliver due to delinquent invoices,” prison officials noted.

The St. Louis-based vendor wouldn’t discuss the contract situation Tuesday, but records show the company is owed about $166,000 dating to last year.

In order to avoid gaps in meal service, state officials gave another company a $36,000 emergency contract to keep the foam trays in stock.

The trays are needed to serve meals to the 3,400 inmates because they have been mostly locked in their cells since mid-October due to rising violence in the maximum-security facility.

The state is facing a $13 billion deficit that could grow larger by next year. The current backlog of bills is listed by Comptroller Dan Hynes at nearly $5.6 billion. The state owes at least one vendor for services dating back to March.