A Hershey bar, for example, cost inmates $1.05 in 2022, but today sells for $1.80 – a 71% increase.Ranch dressing went up 27 cents. Ramen noodles went up 30 cents. Tuna went up by $1.41.
Comparatively, food costs at the grocery store increased by about 10% from inflation, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. In simple math, that means the price of a $2 can of tuna would have increased by 20 cents, yet it’s actually being sold for $1.41 more at the jail. Even if sales dip, however, profits are still expected to increase this year over 2022, when records show the commissary did $2.2 million in sales but only made net revenues of $321,000.that led the county to turn over operations to Keefe. But the county also voluntarily lost money by undercharging on some items, back then.
Back then, the county charged an average markup – the difference between per-unit cost and the sale price – of 46 cents.requested updated per-unit costs of current commissary items, but the county said it was not able to obtain the records from Keefe. The council said the documents for both contracts listed different addresses in different states, and the county never mentioned, in recommending Keefe’s contract, that it was affiliated with or owned by the same parent company that owns Trinity.
Madigan said the county is currently considering extending Trinity’s contract until all of the jail contracts can be “scrutinized” by the incoming sheriff. RonayneWhichever company the county chooses, council members have indicated that they have higher expectations for the jail’s food service than what inmates have apparently been receiving.