Valdosta State Prison food service: inspection records for both Aramark kitchens, 2020 to 2026

Name: Valdosta State Prison food service: inspection records for both Aramark kitchens, 2020 to 2026
Creator: Georgia Prisoners' Speak

Georgia Department of Public Health · Request DPH-20260601 · Filed June 1, 2026 · Fulfilled

GPS asked DPH for food-service inspection reports, scores and related correspondence for Valdosta State Prison from January 2020, and the current food-service permits. DPH's South Health District released the records on June 3, 2026, as two scanned files, one for the "Aramark Corrections Primary" kitchen and one for the "Aramark Corrections Annex" (permit FSP-092-000984, issued to Aramark Corrections on September 13, 2022). The Annex file has 13 routine inspections from May 21, 2020 to May 1, 2026, scored from 85 to 100, with B grades (85 and 86) in May and November 2024. Inspectors cited live roaches or a roach infestation at nine of the 13 inspections, from March 2021 on, and the May 2024, May 2025 and November 2025 reports describe a "major roach infestation." The file also has a September 16, 2021 email from the prison's deputy warden of administration to the inspector setting out a pest-control plan of action. The Primary kitchen file includes DPH's record of a May 2025 complaint about food service at the prison; GPS removed the complainant's name.

Status: DPH's South Health District released the permit and inspection records by email on June 3, 2026.

Documents as released (2)

Document	Received	File
Inspection and complaint records, Aramark Corrections Primary kitchen, Valdosta State Prison (complainant's name removed by GPS) 52 pages as DPH released them, with one change: GPS blacked out the name of the private person who filed the May 2025 food-service complaint quoted on page 33. Nothing else was changed.	June 3, 2026	PDF, 52 p., 4.9 MB
Aramark Corrections Annex kitchen: permit, 13 inspection reports (May 2020 to May 2026) and a 2021 pest-control email 30 scanned pages as released: the food service permit (FSP-092-000984, issued September 13, 2022), a September 16, 2021 email from the deputy warden of administration with a pest-control plan, and 13 routine inspection reports with their addenda; DPH said the blank pages are the backs of printed pages.	June 3, 2026	PDF, 30 p., 3.7 MB

What we asked for

Dear Mr. Coppage,Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., I request copies of the following records in your custody:1. All food-service and food-establishment inspection reports, scores, and related correspondence for Valdosta State Prison and any on-site food-service operation, in Valdosta, Lowndes County, from January 1, 2020 to the present. 2. The current food-service permit(s) for that facility and the named permit holder or operator. 3. If your office holds no records for this facility, please state that in writing and identify which agency or permit holder is responsible for inspecting its food service, including any offsite contractor that prepares or supplies meals to it.Please provide records electronically (PDF or email) where possible. Please respond within three business days as required by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, and advise of any anticipated cost before incurring it.Thank you,

Sent through: Email to the Lowndes County Environmental Health office (DPH South Health District)

What happened

June 1, 2026	Request emailed to the Lowndes County Environmental Health office.
June 3, 2026	DPH's South Health District released the food-service permits and inspection reports as two scanned files, saying the blank pages are the backs of printed pages.

Cost

$0.00: No fee charged

Machine-readable

Records requested under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), by Georgia Prisoners' Speak or, where a page says so, by another person or group who shared them with GPS. Documents marked "as released" are posted exactly as the agency released them. Files marked "prepared by GPS" are GPS's own compilations of those documents, made for convenience; where they differ, the released document governs. A request is published here when GPS cites it or when its records are useful to readers; records about individual deaths are published on GPS's mortality pages, not here.