Georgia's Family-Package Monopoly | GPS

Georgia families once mailed packages from home. Now one vendor sells a T-shirt for up to $9.25—plus shipping and tax. The state won't disclose its cut. https://gps.press/georgias-family-package-monopoly-gps/

Georgia families used to pack a box at their own kitchen table and mail it to their loved one inside. That ended. Today, one state-approved vendor—Union Supply, owned by Aramark—sells single T-shirts for up to $9.25 and socks for $1.35 a pair, plus shipping and Georgia sales tax. Families are capped at one food package per quarter and one clothing package per month. The state's payments to Aramark have climbed from $2.8 million in FY2022 to $14.5 million in FY2025, yet Georgia has never disclosed what share it takes from every purchase. What does it say about a system when the state profits from a market where families have no choice?

Georgia families are barred from mailing packages directly to incarcerated loved ones. One vendor, Union Supply, controls the market—selling single T-shirts for up to $9.25 and socks for $1.35 a pair, plus shipping and tax. GDC payments to its parent company Aramark reached $14.5 million in FY2025. The state's commission remains undisclosed. #GAPrisons #PrisonReform #GeorgiaPrisonerSpeak #CaptiveMarket #UnionSupply #Aramark #MassIncarceration

Georgia's prison package program operates as a closed market: one state-approved vendor, Union Supply, serves a captive customer base of incarcerated people's families. The state bars families from mailing packages directly—a policy shift from years past—and requires all purchases through the vendor. Georgia Department of Corrections payments to Union Supply's parent company, Aramark, rose from $2.8 million in FY2022 to $14.5 million in FY2025. Despite this growth, the state has not disclosed any commission it receives from package sales, and the contract was never competitively bid. This structure raises serious transparency and accountability questions. When a government agency restricts access to a necessity and directs all transactions to a single private vendor, the public has a right to know the financial terms. Other states, like West Virginia, have disclosed commission rates near 17%. Georgia has released nothing.