prison commissary
prisoners can purchase extra items such as food, drinks and hygiene products from the prison commissary .
many privileges are taken away from people once they go to prison, but most inmates are allowed to buy their own items at a prison commissary. check out these 25 items available for sale to prison inmates - - some of the items may surprise you .
you may associate prison food with nondescript gray mush, but think again - there' s a prison in colorado that allows inmates with a sophisticated palate to order baby octopus .
. but although prison does completely suck, if you have money, things can suck a little less. a prison commissary (a type of general store) actually has way more stuff than you' d ever think. sure, it varies depending on your particular prison and security level, but there' s quite a bit you can buy to make life behind bars just a little more bearable .
he said the idea behind commissary is to control contraband more than anything else .
leonbruno said gifts from visitors to inmates are problematic, hence the need for commissary .
prison time is slow time, so you need something to keep the mind occupied. it' s hard to imagine tough - guy inmates
friends and family may make commissary purchases for eligible offenders up to the maximum quarterly spend .
who knew that there were people making photo albums in prison? however, you can make memories just about anywhere - at least this way they can look pretty .
an inmate' s custody level determines the items inmates are permitted to purchase from the department of corrections (doc) commissary system. the commissary is operated by pennsylvania correctional industries, a division of doc .
federal prisoners have access to a commissary, where they are permitted to purchase extra items they may need .
these formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs are trying to keep people out of prison. unlocked futures funds startups formed by and for people who have dealt with the justice system. urltoken # wrongfulconvictions
first comes trial, then comes guilty, then comes sentencing to years locked away with psychotic criminals even more dangerous than you are. join us on a whirlwind tour of prison !
on a good day, you wouldn' t want to get oysters from just anywhere - and probably the last place you would want to get them is a prison commissary, because there' s a pretty good chance you' ll die of food poisoning. especially if they cost that little .
the department of justice began allowing prison commissaries at each federal prison back in 1930. family and friends have to deposit money so prisoners can buy basic items like shampoo as well as
luxury
items like the radio that made it easier for kerman to do her time. prisons can' t let family members ship these items directly because they might try to smuggle in contraband .
the nueces county commissary brings in more than $ 900, 000 annually with the inmate benefit trust fund receiving about 41 percent. statewide, prisoners spent more than $ 95 million on commissary items in 2010, according to texas tribune data .
however, since the contractors that provide commissary items don' t have to cater directly to prisoners, not every prisoner has access to name - brand snacks like these. america' s biggest supplier of prison products is a privately owned company called keefe group that doesn' t offer a ton of appetizing products, davidson notes .
to purchase commissary items, all federal prisons use commissary order forms, which you fill out and turn in. some prisons have you turn the form in at a window in the commissary building at the time of purchase, while others have you submit the form ahead of time. inmate commissary workers then fill the order and a guard scans the items at a cash register. as the guard does so he or she generally will pass the items to you through a slot (much like a bank teller does) .
lake county sheriff' s office chief deputy frank leonbruno said inmates rarely spend as much on commissary purchases as zimmerman at the local level .
here is a list of some stuff you may never have expected to see in a prison and just what it costs to obtain it. check it out, you never know when it' ll come in handy ...
if you’re wondering how much to send your loved one for commissary, $ 200 is good to get them started. this will get them the basics, like shoes, a radio, mp3 player and hygiene products. with $ 50 from home a month, you can buy everything that you need. with $ 100 per month you can live very well in prison .
jesse spikes, jr. stocks up at the commissary at the lake county jail. assisting him are officers mike kato, left, and gary cooper .
to transport your items from commissary to your cell, you can use the two laundry bags that were issued when you received your clothing. prisoners often carry their laundry bags with them when they go to commissary and use them to transport commissary purchases back. if you have too many items to carry yourself, it is typical to offer a friend an ice cream to help you carry your purchases. this can be particularly helpful when purchasing bulky 12 - packs of soda .
for that reason, the jail operates commissary four days a week, giving inmates the privilege to spend their own money on items the jail knows are safe .
according to leonbruno, selection at state prison commissaries is far wider than at a local jail since prisoners are housed at those facilities for a longer period of time. items available at prisons could include clothes, shoes, and in some cases, even small electronics .
according to a dayton daily news report, ohio prisoners spent $ 38 million on commissary purchases last year on items that are marked up about 25 percent, on average .
only inmates with money in their trust fund account are permitted to shop, as commissary is a personal privilege, not a taxpayer - funded activity. friends and family can send money to inmates by depositing money in the inmate’s commissary account via a u. s. postal money order to the national lockbox or electronically through western union or moneygram .
george zimmerman, who gained a tremendous amount of weight before his trial, used his commissary money mostly to buy snacks, nbc news reported last year. his $ 99 commissary tab included cheez - its, big grandma' s chocolate chip cookies, animal crackers, twix, peanut m & ms; , cheetos, and strawberry pop - tarts .
according to rose, the size of an account, and how much is spent on commissary purchases, varies wildly from one inmate to the next, so estimating an average is difficult .
regardless of how much money inmates spend, jails and prisons do not make a profit from commissary. by state law, all money made from the store must directly benefit the inmates .
for some prisoners, a trip to the jail commissary, a small store that sells food and supplies, might provide a small slice of happiness at an otherwise bleak point in their lives .
instead, detention centers provide inmates the privilege of purchasing commissary items — varying from envelopes and postage stamps to spices — that give those behind bars a taste of home and create some revenue for the jail .
when you' re arrested, any money you have on you is put on your commissary account ,
leonbruno said .
you get back any money left on the account when you leave .
purchase specific commissary items for the offender from tdcj’s online catalog (delivered to the offender within 5 business days after tdcj receives the order). please note that unit security or staffing issues can override this timeframe .
ecommdirect lets friends and family make deposits into the account of an offender incarcerated in a tdcj facility and purchase commissary goods. this secure service offers online convenience and greater control of what happens with the funds you provide .
curiosity surrounding the april incarceration of george zimmerman, the florida neighborhood watch captain who killed unarmed teenager trayvon martin, led to published reports about the various products zimmerman picked up at commissary to make his stay a little more bearable .
while inmates actually end up using the products sold in the commissary, it' s the prisons that choose contractors and stock commissaries. as one private contractor told davidson ,
the institution is our customer. not the prisoner .
we provide a bar of soap, shaving cream and other basic items when someone comes to jail ,
leonbruno said .
if someone wants a better shampoo or toothpaste or a different soap, they can buy them at commissary .
writing in the new york times, davidson notes that prisons all have a commissary, a bodega of sorts where inmates can buy toiletries like deodorant and fun items like m & ms; , and private contractors run these commissaries about half the time .
inmates in texas are allowed to buy common household goods from prison markets, known as commissaries. the following treemap visualizes nearly $ 100 million in purchases made during 2009 by grouping them in categories (dry goods, grooming, etc .). rectangles change in size depending on the number of times an item was sold. color represents annual sales by dollar amounts. right click on an item to zoom into its category, or search for a specific item below .
to protect your purchases, prisoners are assigned a locker located next to their bunk or in their cell (depending on the type of housing). at the commissary you can purchase a combination lock to secure your property. but more important than this, be mindful of your surroundings and who you associate with. leaving an mp3 player sitting on a chair in the day room during chow is a great way to get it stolen. likewise, inviting known thieves into your cell, even if you are friendly with them, is also a great way for stamps to come up missing .
source: texas department of criminal justice | download. csv | created with many eyes
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keystone state. proudly founded by william penn in 1681 as a place of tolerance and freedom .
well, a wide variety of items actually. federal prisoners can get various types of meat (e. g. , tuna, mackerel, chili), beverages (e. g. , sodas, tea, coffee, drink mixes), snacks (e. g. , little debbie’s snacks, trail mix, chips), and a plethora of personal items (e. g. , clothing, shoes, hygienic items, radios, mp3 players, postage stamps, copy cards) .
if a prisoner’s family can’t send them money, prisoners can use money from their institutional work assignments, which is usually around $ 10 to $ 20 per month .
generally speaking, federal prisoners are permitted to shop once a week on an assigned day. while they can generally purchase what they want, there are limits to some items (e. g. , two 12 - packs of soda, two ice creams, 20 first class stamps) and overall spending limitations. you are currently permitted to spend up to $ 360 per month. however, some items, such as copy cards, postage stamps, and over - the - counter medications do not count against this limitation .
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corpus chisti — hot tap water, ramen noodles, fritos, canned sausage and cheese .
the concoction is one of many that supplement the distaste to bland food served at nueces county jail, sheriff jim kaelin said .
“it’s jail culture, they don’t want to eat what comes out of the kitchen; that’s usually the no. 1 complaint, ” he said .
the meals served three times a day on an aluminum thermal tray are as appealing as their presentation, kaelin said .
“when you serve 1, 000 plus inmates you don’t worry about presentation, ” kaelin said. “there are no sprigs of pretty and tasty things on it, and we’re not going to season it up. they don’t make jail food that way. ”
the noodles, honey buns, coffee and jalapeño pretzels made the list of favored delicacies for inmates .
“our business has grown, ” he said of the about $ 400, 000 in sales revenue the jail directs to the inmate fund .
when he took over as sheriff in 2006, the trust averaged about $ 60, 000 .
the fund this year paid for improvements to the jail’s camera system and labor for its installation as well as laptops and a printer for its first inmate re - entry program, kaelin said .
more than $ 500, 000 was spent on upgrading 92 of its cameras and adding 122 to the jail’s surveillance system, kaelin said. and about $ 6, 000 was spent on the jail’s résumé writing course, which coaches inmates for job preparedness after release .
“the money can only be spent on things which directly benefit inmates, ” kaelin said .
expenses also have been directed to uniforms, blankets, hygiene kits, towels, mattresses, jailhouse sandals and more .
“we’re the biggest hotel in south texas, ” kaelin said. “but people that come here don’t come in with an overnight bag. ”
an inmate signed up for ramadan fast. now he' s suing because he got hungry
correctionsone is revolutionizing the way in which the corrections community finds relevant news, identifies important training information, interacts with each other and researches product purchases and suppliers. it has become the most comprehensive and trusted online destination for correctional professionals nationwide .
aside from the usual things, like hygiene products and other basic necessities, you can treat yourself to everything from seafood specials to scrapbooking supplies - not to mention a few items that seem a little risky, like cables and scissors .
the yarn itself goes for about $ 4 - 10. a six pack of crochet hooks is $ 1. 95
. as long as they keep the supplies away from anyone who might misuse them ...
anyone who' s been there will tell you: jail is no picnic .
they' ll say the food is notoriously bland and inmates are provided only the barest essentials to get through the mind - numbing hours spent in their cell .
an nbc news report found zimmerman picked up $ 98. 90 worth of snacks including cheetos, jolly rangers, twix as well as undergarments, aspirin and stationary in his first two days at the john e. polk correctional facility in sanford, fla .
sometimes people will try to bring in a book, but they' ll drop liquid drugs onto a page and send their friend a letter telling them to suck on the top corner of page 10 ,
he said .
oftentimes, contraband can be even more dangerous than drugs as attempts to smuggle in matches or weapons in seemingly innocuous gifts such as greeting cards do sometimes happen .
leonbruno said family members and friends can also contribute $ 30 at a time to an inmate' s account and that prisoners can visit the store once a week .
inmates can select from a limited array of snacks and personal hygiene products that supplement the basic items furnished free of charge .
at the geauga county jail, inmates are allowed to spend up to $ 60 a time at the store, which is open twice a week .
jail administrator lt. kathy rose said since january, the top - selling items have been tuna fish, instant soups, protein bars and, not surprisingly, coffee .
coffee is always a good seller because they can' t get it otherwise ,
rose said .
some people use it as a grocery store and buy a lot, others pick out just their very basic needs ,
rose said .
although commissaries exist to limit crime within the facilities, rose said officers are always vigilant to be sure the products purchased are used only for their intended purposes .
if (an inmate) bought 20 cans of soup today and another 20 tomorrow, it would be confiscated ,
rose said .
we make sure they' re not storing it or trading it with other inmates for any reason .
in addition to snacks, leonbruno said games - - playing cards, checkers and chess sets - - are popular items to help inmates spend the long hours stuck in their cells .
imagine spending 30 days stuck in your living room ,
he said .
even if you have hbo, which our inmates do not, you' ll go a little stir crazy .
commissaries also might be of use when inmates prepare for life on the outside. rose said the store offers rta bus passes for those who need it .
a lot of our inmates, when they get released, don' t have a ride home ,
rose said .
officials said the funds are spent on maintaining the jails' legal libraries, providing ged classes, bibles for church services and other supplies and programs .
if someone is here for a longer period of time, they can work on getting their diploma so they can leave a better person than when they came in ,
leonbruno said .
in lake county, the money also goes to pay for a weekly movie night on fridays. leonbruno said showing movies once a week is sometimes seen as pampering, though it' s really an effective way to keep inmates from acting out .
they know they have to behave or the whole range will not get to watch the movie ,
he said .
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in the book
orange is the new black
that inspired the series, it' s clear prisoners aren' t really the commissaries' customers when the protagonist piper kerman has to wait months to buy a portable radio to play while she jogs .
keefe group doesn' t have to worry about appealing to hungry prisoners who want peanut m & ms; , though. as davidson writes, those hungry prisoners aren' t the ones selecting the private contractor .
welcome to ecommdirect – a direct purchase program for texas department of criminal justice (tdcj) offenders .
note: you are not setting up an account with urltoken to make future purchases or deposits .
you are not required to make a purchase and a deposit at the same time .
hours: ecommdirect store is closed weeknights from 8: 30 pm cst to 4: 00 am cst .
offenders may receive a maximum of one online purchase per day. important: if you fill your cart and then decide not to complete the transaction, select “cancel” on the payment page so the offender is still eligible for purchases that day .
offender trust fund deposits may be made at any time with a limit of $ 300 per deposit transaction .
the payment processing system used by this website will not accept payment from government issued credit / debit cards such as child support, plasma, or social security cards. attempting to use these types of cards can result in a temporary hold being placed on your card. please use another form of payment for this website .
the products displayed on the website are items currently available for purchase in most tdcj facilities .
no credit or refund shall be given for items purchased but not received by the intended recipient due to that person’s release, change in custody level or other sanction which would not allow receipt of goods. if specific products purchased cannot be delivered within 30 days, the dollar amount of the direct purchase will be deposited into the offender’s trust account. online purchases are subject to substitutions if the item is unavailable at the time of distribution. all deposits made to an offender’s trust account are final and no refunds will be issued. chargebacks to a credit card will affect offender’s eligibility. tdcj reserves the right to capture and retain ip address information for fraud detection .
disclaimer: you must be 18 years old to use this application. all offenders banking information including transaction and balance information is restricted and confidential .
this online service is provided by texas. gov, the official website of texas. the price of this service includes funds that support the ongoing operations and enhancements of texas. gov, which is provided by a third party in partnership with the state.
a prison commissary ( commissary being a word taken out of context in such situations ) or canteen is a store within a correctional facility , from which inmates may purchase products such as hygiene items , snacks , writing instruments , etc . spices , including those packaged with instant ramen noodles , are a popular item due to the often bland nature of prison food . typically inmates are not allowed to possess cash ; instead , they make purchases through an account with funds from money contributed by friends , family members , etc. , or earned as wages . typically , prisons set a maximum limit of funds that can be spent by each inmate on commissary ; in the u.s. federal system , it is $ 290 per month . it is generally prohibited for inmates to trade items purchased on commissary . however , certain items tend to be used as currency . cigarettes were a classic medium of exchange , but in the wake of prison tobacco bans , postage stamps have become a more common currency item , along with any inexpensive , popular item that has a round number price such as 25 or 50 cents . as prison budgets are cut in the usa , ramen has become a popular commodity to supplement food needs . mylar foil packets of mackerel fish or " macks " are one such item . in 1930 , the u.s. department of justice authorized and established a commissary at each federal institution . some prison commissaries are staffed by government employees and inmates , while others have been completely privatized . significant price markups are common in prison commissaries , although some prison systems set maximum markups ; for instance , the delaware department of correction has a 20 % maximum markup . $ 100 million in purchases were made from texas ' prison system alone in 2009 . prison commissary is a privilege that is often taken away for infractions . 
a prison commissary (commissary being a word taken out of context in such situations) or canteen is a store within a correctional facility, from which inmates may purchase products such as hygiene items, snacks, writing instruments, etc. spices, including those packaged with instant ramen noodles, are a popular item due to the often bland nature of prison food. typically inmates are not allowed to possess cash; instead, they make purchases through an account with funds from money contributed by friends, family members, etc., or earned as wages. typically, prisons set a maximum limit of funds that can be spent by each inmate on commissary; in the u.s. federal system, it is $ 290 per month. it is generally prohibited for inmates to trade items purchased on commissary. however, certain items tend to be used as currency. cigarettes were a classic medium of exchange, but in the wake of prison tobacco bans, postage stamps have become a more common currency item, along with any inexpensive, popular item that has a round number price such as 25 or 50 cents. as prison budgets are cut in the usa, ramen has become a popular commodity to supplement food needs. mylar foil packets of mackerel fish or " macks " are one such item. in 1930, the u.s. department of justice authorized and established a commissary at each federal institution. some prison commissaries are staffed by government employees and inmates, while others have been completely privatized. significant price markups are common in prison commissaries, although some prison systems set maximum markups; for instance, the delaware department of correction has a 20% maximum markup. $ 100 million in purchases were made from texas' prison system alone in 2009. prison commissary is a privilege that is often taken away for infractions.
a prison commissary (commissary being a word taken out of context in such situations) or canteen is a store within a correctional facility, from which inmates may purchase products such as hygiene items, snacks, writing instruments, etc. spices, including those packaged with instant ramen noodles, are a popular item due to the often bland nature of prison food. typically inmates are not allowed to possess cash; instead, they make purchases through an account with funds from money contributed by friends, family members, etc., or earned as wages. typically, prisons set a maximum limit of funds that can be spent by each inmate on commissary; in the u.s. federal system, it is $ 290 per month. it is generally prohibited for inmates to trade items purchased on commissary. however, certain items tend to be used as currency. cigarettes were a classic medium of exchange, but in the wake of prison tobacco bans, postage stamps have become a more common currency item, along with any inexpensive, popular item that has a round number price such as 25 or 50 cents. as prison budgets are cut in the usa, ramen has become a popular commodity to supplement food needs. mylar foil packets of mackerel fish or " macks " are one such item. in 1930, the u.s. department of justice authorized and established a commissary at each federal institution. some prison commissaries are staffed by government employees and inmates, while others have been completely privatized. significant price markups are common in prison commissaries, although some prison systems set maximum markups; for instance, the delaware department of correction has a 20% maximum markup. $ 100 million in purchases were made from texas' prison system alone in 2009. prison commissary is a privilege that is often taken away for infractions.