In what it bills as the first database of prison commissary lists from nearly every state, listing products, prices and markups, The Appeal quantified the particulars of a well-known phenomenon: the price gouging that exploits incarcerated people and their families. The new study, "Locked In, Priced Out," obtained detailed lists from 46 states, including states' multiple pricing and product lists, which can vary depending on particular prison units and types of housing. The database summarizes by state the cost of basic food, hygiene and religious products, showing price data and the profit margins states realize in their pricing.
The study found prison prices up to five times higher than in the community and markups as high as 600%. Prices for identical products differed greatly from state to state. Maruchan-brand ramen noodles cost 57 cents in Missouri prisons, for instance, but $1.06 in Florida prisons—about three times more expensive than at Target. Some of the highest-priced ramen in the country was sold at commissaries run by Keefe Group, which is controlled by the private equity firm HIG Capital. The dismal quality of prison-provided meals often forces low-paid incarcerated people to buy food at the commissaries to stave off hunger. “Incarcerated people are using their hard-earned money and their family’s hard-earned money to buy things to help them survive,” said Wanda Bertram, communications strategist for Prison Policy Initiative, a research and advocacy group. “It’s cruel enough that prisons are making people do this. And it gets even worse when you know private companies owned by private equity firms get involved and look for ways to make as much money off of it as possible.”