The jail did not have a stocked commissary like you often see in movies. I’m not sure if this is common or not. Instead, there was a list of items with unique numeric identifiers. You would use the telephone system to enter your order by keying in the identifier and quantity. Inmates could place orders each week and have the items transported to the jail. Inmates delivered the stuff to each block in large garbage bags. These bags contained smaller bags that contained the items for each inmate. Each bag had an invoice, and while a guard observed, you reconciled the contents with the invoice. If there was a disagreement, you notified the guard who would check. If the invoice agreed with the bag’s contents, you signed the invoice and retained a carbon copy for your records.
The most popular thing people ordered from the commissary were Ramen noodle packs. These were the de-facto currency in the jail and cost $1 each. Items typically cost two to three times as much in jail as outside. You were technically not allowed to gamble, but there were Ramen noodles wagered for everything from poker games to guard behavior. In addition to flavoring the noodles, inmates used the MSG packets on anything from the kitchen.
The packaged treat section at a convenience store or gas station will give you an idea of the food items one could order. From what I recall, oatmeal was about the only healthy thing you could order. I was not familiar with the brand of most of the items as no region in which I’ve lived sold these brands. I cannot recall the name, but I had the impression that they were from around Kansas City for some reason. I suspect that maybe the delivery company was based in that area and delivered items to jails around the midwest.
Besides food, you could order office supplies such as computer paper, legal pads, small journals, and pens. Other items included athletic shoes that weighed significantly less than the standard-issue boots but considerably more than name-brand athletic shoes. They were also much more comfortable than the boots. I recall being amazed at how light they seemed when I first got a pair. I still have them, and now they seem extremely heavy. You could also purchase a sweatshirt and sweatpants as well as thermal underwear. At night I would fold the sweatshirt into a nice pillow since the jail did not provide one. You could also buy a small radio and replacement batteries. It was nice to have the radio, but very few stations had a signal strong enough for good reception in the jail. I recall being excited to find an alternative rock station I could occasionally tune with the analog station selector among a few country music stations. The housing of the radio was clear apparently, so you could not hide contraband inside. Inmates passed down most of these items as they were released or transferred. The only reason I still have the shoes (and sweatshirt and sweatpants) is because of the strange circumstances under which the jail released me the last time. There were also some ‘exotic’ items–mainly better radios–that inmates had brought when they transferred from a different jail. The following image gallery is a collection of my commissary orders, so can see all the junk food I ate in jail.
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