HOW DOES THE PRISON COMMISSARY SYSTEM WORK?
Prisoners are not allowed to possess money. If they are able to earn money by working a job in prison or their family sends them money, it goes into their personal prisoner trust fund. Most prisoners call this their "commissary money."
THE BASICS
While incarcerated, prisoners are provided meals, basic clothing, and a few very basic personal care items.
Prisoners with good behavior are allowed use their trust fund money to purchase additional supplies from the prison "store" or commissary.
THE COMMISSARY
Prisoners look forward to commissary day, which is typically once every two weeks.
Although prisoners may speak of "going to the store," it really means they take a list of items they want to buy and stand in line at the commissary window. When their commissary order is filled, they walk away with a bag full of precious commodities such as coffee, instant soup, chips, cookies, canned foods, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, writing paper, and stamps.
With approval, prisoners can also buy things like hot pots, clocks, fans, typewriters, shoes, underclothing, and basic over-the-counter medications.
BARTER SYSTEM
Prison food is very low quality, so life is much better for prisoners who can afford commissary. Although it is against the rules, many prisoners trade some of their commissary supplies to get other things they need or want. If someone does not have money for commissary, they can often earn coffee, soups, or postage stamps by doing other prisoners' laundry, cutting hair, shining shoes, making greeting cards, fixing broken radios, etc. Prisoners in general are very entrepreneurial and there is always a strong barter system going on behind the scenes.
OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE
FIVE PRISONERS MAY REPRESENT THE PATH TO HEALTHIER PRISONS
The "Responsible Prison Project" is comprised of five residents of the Darrington Unit corrections facility in eastern Texas, each of whom is a graduate of an in-prison seminary program.
RAPPER DISHES ON PRISON FOOD
Basic nutrition is a serious struggle for those behind bars.
DID YOU ENJOY THIS RESOURCE?
Make sure you don't miss out on any of our helpful articles and incredible transformation stories! Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter, and you'll get great content delivered directly to your inbox.
Your privacy is safe with us. We will never sell, trade, or share your personal information.