Prison commissary markups reach 600% on items inmates cannot buy elsewhere

A 2024 investigation by The Appeal across 46 state prison commissary lists found markups as high as 600% on basic goods that incarcerated people have no alternative way to obtain. Ramen that costs $0.35 at Target sells for up to $1.06 in prison commissaries. The people harmed are incarcerated individuals who depend on commissary for essentials that prisons fail to provide adequately -- hygiene products, supplemental food (because institutional meals average 2,000 calories but are often nutritionally poor), and over-the-counter medicine. With average prison wages of $0.13-$0.52/hour, a single tube of toothpaste at $5.00 represents 10-38 hours of labor. So what happens is that families outside -- already under financial strain from lost household income due to incarceration -- send money to cover commissary costs, with the average family spending $500/year on commissary deposits. This creates a two-tier system inside prisons: those with outside financial support can access basic hygiene and nutrition, while those without cannot. Religious items show discriminatory pricing too -- Virginia prisons charge $0.80 for a Christmas card but $2.33 for a Ramadan card. This persists because for-profit companies like Keefe Group hold exclusive multi-year contracts (Florida's is $175 million over 5 years) and pay commissions back to corrections departments (35.6% in Florida), so the DOC profits directly from higher prices.