The Big Business of Prisoner Care Packages
Feature | Filed 7:00 a.m. 12.21.2017
The Big Business of Prisoner Care Packages
Inside the booming market for
food in pouches, Inside the booming market for food in pouches, clear electronics, pocket-less clothing and other corrections-approved goods. By Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge This story also was published at Vox.
It’s the holiday season, but many incarcerated Americans won’t get presents directly from home.
To stop drugs and weapons from entering jails and prisons, many corrections agencies bar family members from mailing packages or bringing them during visits. Those who want to send food, clothing and other gifts to incarcerated relatives — at any time of year — often must go through private vendors.
Here’s how it works: Families shop from print and online catalogs supplied by care package companies. Every item is prison- and jail-approved. In some facilities, that can mean no glass or metal containers or no personal hygiene products containing alcohol. Items are often contraband-proof, from sealed food pouches to clear electronics to pocketless sweatpants.
clear radio $27.99 | Wyandotte County, Kansas | Sold by iCare/Aramark
tuna pouch $1.45 | Clark County, Illinois | Sold by Access Securepak
egg crystals $3.95 | Hutchinson Correctional Facility, Kansas | Sold by Union Supply Direct
sweatpants $15.08 | Correctional Treatment Facility, Washington, D.C. | Sold by Access Securepak * See note
