GDC's men's and women's menus, standardized recipes and nutrient analysis, 2025 to 2026
What GDC says it serves: the 28-day regular menus for men's and women's prisons (May 2026), the standardized recipe card for every menu item with its portion size, serving-size sheets for both menus, and the average daily nutrients for the regular and therapeutic diets (June 2025). GDC first estimated $1,320.00 for the full set of recipes. The request was narrowed, and GDC released the menus and nutrient sheet on July 29, 2026 and 12 recipe cards plus a product label on September 10, invoicing $255.75. On October 21, 2026, GDC's General Counsel emailed the complete recipe sets for the men's and women's menus (the two sets are the same 109 cards) and the serving-size sheets.
Status: All of the requested records have been released: the menus and nutrient sheet (July 29), 12 recipe cards (September 10), and the complete recipe sets and serving-size sheets (October 21, 2026).
Documents as released (20)
| Document | Received | File |
|---|---|---|
| Men's regular menu, May 2026 (28 days) The 28-day regular menu for men's facilities, released July 29, 2026. | July 29, 2026 | PDF, 4 p., 122 KB |
| Women's regular menu, May 2026 (28 days) The 28-day regular menu for women's facilities, released July 29, 2026. | July 29, 2026 | PDF, 4 p., 122 KB |
| Average daily nutrients, regular and therapeutic diets (June 2025) GDC's nutrient analysis by diet, released July 29, 2026. | July 29, 2026 | PDF, 1 p., 97 KB |
| Recipe card: Boiled spaghetti (E4v2) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 2 p., 103 KB |
| Recipe card: Coffee (Y2) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 1 p., 101 KB |
| Recipe card: Grits (Y3PA) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 2 p., 103 KB |
| Recipe card: Ham and yellow cheese sandwich (N17v8) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 1 p., 100 KB |
| Recipe card: Hamburger hot rolls (D33) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 2 p., 106 KB |
| Recipe card: Iced tea (Y50) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 1 p., 101 KB |
| Recipe card: Peanut butter and apple jelly (Y42V1) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 1 p., 101 KB |
| Recipe card: Pea salad (M9TB1) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 2 p., 105 KB |
| Recipe card: Pinto beans (Y21PA) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 2 p., 105 KB |
| Recipe card: Plain muffins (D30) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 2 p., 105 KB |
| Recipe card: Spaghetti sauce (L38TB) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 3 p., 106 KB |
| Recipe card: Spice cake (G25A) Standardized recipe with ingredients, batch size and portion, released September 10, 2026. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 2 p., 106 KB |
| Beef patty product label The pre-portioned item in the September 10 release. | September 10, 2026 | JPG, 467 KB |
| Recipe cards for the men's menu (zip, 109 cards) As emailed by GDC's General Counsel on October 21, 2026: one PDF recipe card per menu item. | October 21, 2026 | ZIP, 10.9 MB |
| Recipe cards for the women's menu (zip, 109 cards) As emailed on October 21, 2026. The 109 cards are byte-for-byte the same as the men's set. | October 21, 2026 | ZIP, 10.9 MB |
| Serving sizes, men's regular menu (updated May 2026) Serving size for each item on the men's regular menu, emailed October 21, 2026. | October 21, 2026 | PDF, 4 p., 347 KB |
| Serving sizes, women's regular menu (updated May 2026) Serving size for each item on the women's regular menu, emailed October 21, 2026. | October 21, 2026 | PDF, 4 p., 78 KB |
Correspondence (1)
| Document | Received | File |
|---|---|---|
| GDC invoice INV26-R029786-1, September 10, 2026 (requester's name and address removed by GPS) $255.75 for 7.75 hours of nutritionist time at $33.00 an hour. GPS removed the requester's name and mailing address; nothing else was changed. | September 10, 2026 | PDF, 1 p., 89 KB |
Prepared by GPS from these records (1)
Our compilations, made for convenience. Where they differ from the documents as released, the released documents govern.
| Document | Received | File |
|---|---|---|
| All 109 recipe cards in one PDF (prepared by GPS) The 109 cards from the October 21 zip files, joined into one searchable PDF in alphabetical order. The zip files are the originals. | October 21, 2026 | PDF, 204 p., 11.1 MB |
What we asked for
Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., The GDC Accountability Project, Inc. (Georgia Prisoners' Speak), a Georgia nonprofit investigative-journalism organization, requests copies of the following records held by the Department and/or the Georgia Correctional Industries Administration (Food and Farm Services): 1. The current Master Menu — the approved cyclical (28-day) menu referenced in SOP 409.04.02, as maintained by Food and Farm Services' Central Office Registered Dietitian, for male facilities (and female, if maintained separately), in effect during FY2025 and FY2026. 2. The standardized recipes for that Master Menu, including portion sizes / serving yields for each item. 3. The certified nutritional analysis of the Master Menu — the document by which the Registered Dietitian certifies its nutritional content, including average daily caloric value, under SOP 409.04.02 Section IV(B), for FY2025–FY2026. 4. Any substitution lists (SOP 409.04.02, Attachment 1) in effect during that period. We request electronic (PDF) delivery to accountability@gps.press or via this portal, agree to reasonable fees up to $50.00 (please notify before exceeding), and accept any redactions the Act requires. The GDC Accountability Project, Inc. (Georgia Prisoners' Speak) accountability@gps.press · https://gps.press 285 W Wieuca Rd NE, PMB #4153, Atlanta, GA 30342Please be specific with your request to narrow our search and respond to you quickly and efficiently.
Sent through: GDC Open Records (GovQA portal)
What happened
| June 18, 2026 | Request filed through GDC's open-records portal. |
| July 9, 2026 | GDC estimated $1,320.00 to produce the recipes for both menus. |
| July 20, 2026 | The request was narrowed; GDC confirmed its nutritionist could produce the records. |
| July 29, 2026 | GDC released the May 2026 men's and women's regular menus and the June 2025 average daily nutrients sheet. |
| August 31, 2026 | GDC estimated 12 recipes (3 pages each) and one pre-portioned item at 8 hours, $33.00 an hour; the estimate was accepted. |
| September 10, 2026 | GDC released the 12 recipe cards and a beef patty product label, and issued invoice INV26-R029786-1 for $255.75. |
| October 2, 2026 | Call with GDC's General Counsel about the remaining recipes. |
| October 21, 2026 | GDC's General Counsel emailed the recipe cards for the men's and women's menus and the serving-size sheets for both. |
Cost
$255.75: GDC first estimated $1,320.00 for the full set (July 9, 2026). After the request was narrowed it estimated 8 hours at $33.00 an hour (August 31) and invoiced $255.75 on September 10, the first quarter hour free.
Machine-readable
- JSON: https://gps.press/records/r029786-061826/?format=json
- Markdown: https://gps.press/records/r029786-061826.md
- REST API: https://gps.press/wp-json/gps-public-records/v1/requests/R029786-061826
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.