‘It’s hard enough to survive with the inflation that we already deal with on the outside,’ says the mother of an inmate.
By Mitch Perry
In the last couple of years, inflation and food prices have been high as Americans go to the grocery store.
But for inmates in Florida prisons, prices have gone up even higher when it comes to purchasing food, drinks, health aids, toiletries and other goods at the canteen, or commissary, of the institutions they’re housed in.
That’s a major issue when most inmates don’t make any money at all in the state’s prisons – creating added expenses for friends and family members of the incarcerated.
Over the past couple of weeks, criminal justice reform advocates in Florida have posted on social media some examples of those higher prices, such as:
A three-ounce package of Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup that can be purchased at a Walgreens in Tallahassee for 69 cents, but now will cost inmates in Florida’s prisons $1.06.
A package of two AA Energizer batteries goes for $1.25 at the Dollar Tree store on Apalachee Parkway in Tallahassee – the same package at state prison canteens goes for $3.30.
And a Big AZ frozen chicken fried sandwich purchased at a Murphy USA gas station in Panama City goes for $4.99 but will take inmates back $6.19.
These higher prices come after the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) announced last month that they had signed a five-year $175 million contract with the Keefe Commissary Network to provide “new and enhanced commissary services.” Keefe bills itself on its website as the nation’s leading provider of automated commissary management services in the country.
Those price increases hit earlier this month, and it’s angering loved ones of inmates, who are feeling those added costs.
“It’s hard enough to survive with the inflation that we already deal with on the outside,” says Michelle Rothwell, whose son Danny is currently incarcerated at Liberty Correctional Institution in the Panhandle. “And then the prices that they are charging our loved ones in there are more than convenience store prices. So, something that we would buy on the streets are even costing more and they’re buying in it bulk, so you know that they’re not buying single-item prices that we would buy at a convenient store.”
According to the contract between Keefe and the FDC, Keefe is allowed to ask for price increases twice a year capped at 10% of the current price. However, they can also request “exigent price increases” of greater than 10% of the current price for individual products at any time if they are affected by “extreme and unforeseen volatility in the marketplace.” There are 23 separate canteen menus.
The contact also says that if the FDC determines that the sales price of an item is above what is considered fair market value, the department can send a letter to Keefe requesting that they decrease the price of the item, which Keefe is mandated to do within one business day.
Florida inmates are not only paying more than ever for certain items, but they’re paying more than the incarcerated in other states as well.
In Texas, where a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice says they use several vendors for commissary purposes but not Keefe, the canteen price for a 12-ounce can of soda (Coca-Cola, Sprite, Mountain Dew) is $0.55 cents. In Florida under Keefe, 12-ounce cans of soda go for $1.25.
A 16.9-ounce bottle of water costs Texas inmates $0.26 cents. In Florida, that same sized quantity of water sells to inmates for $1.15.
The issue of higher prices for inmates is material to inmates and their loves ones because while most inmates in Florida prisons work, almost all of them are unpaid for their efforts (though the contract between Keefe and the FDC does allow for inmates who work full time to make $50 per month and those who work part-time $1.67 per day for months with 30 days and $1.61 per day for months with 31 days).
That’s led to efforts from state lawmakers to ban forced prison labor through laws that abolish slavery or indentured servitude (That legislation has been introduced by Tampa House Democratic Rep. Dianne Hart in recent years but has gone nowhere in the GOP-controlled Legislature).
For family members, friends and or loved ones to send money to an inmate, they must use JPay, a financial services prison contractor. A $20 transfer to an inmate costs an additional $4.95 to the sender. The send of a $100 transfer gets hit with an additional $11.95 charge.
In addition, incarcerated individuals are paying a higher rate vs. what corrections officers and other staff are paying in the canteen store.
One example is the cost of Snickers candy bar. That piece of candy costs $1 for staff but is $1.60 for inmates.
“It flies in the face of logic that you would charge the people who have a paid job less money than the people who have no job and are relying on a second person for their income,” says Denise Rock, the executive director for Florida Cares, an inmate advocacy group, referring to the friend and/or family member who transmit money to an inmate. “This does not make any logical sense to me.”
The Phoenix reached out to both Keefe, as well as the Florida Department of Corrections several times for comment. Neither responded to our requests.
After our story was published, the Florida Department of Corrections did respond with a statement, which you can read below.
The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) procurement process is open and competitive, per Florida law.
While FDC was able to limit price increases over the past couple of years, the nation has experienced record inflation over the same time. The prices in these new commissary menus and order forms are the result of negotiation, the level of inflation, and a commitment to provide a variety of products at fair prices.
According to the recently signed canteen operations contract, the vendor must conduct a fair market value analysis and provide pricing relative to the cost of supplying and maintaining the inventory in prisons across Florida.
Comparing gas station prices, which vary by location, does not accurately reflect price analysis.
It’s worth noting that a contracted vendor does not operate the staff canteen. Instead, each local institutional administration handles it based on staff requests, pricing, and local store availability. It’s important to understand that the staff canteen is an entirely separate process from other canteen operations.
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