Tip Brief November 28, 2025

Georgia Prisoners Losing 50 Pounds on $2 Daily Food Budget While Private Companies Profit

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Georgia prisoners are receiving as few as 1,200 calories daily—half the USDA minimum—while private food contractors pocket bonuses for serving smaller portions, according to a new investigation. The systematic starvation is fueling violence, disease, and deaths across the state's 34 prisons, costing taxpayers millions in healthcare and security expenses.
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Georgia prisoners are receiving as few as 1,200 calories daily—half the USDA minimum—while private food contractors pocket bonuses for serving smaller portions, according to a new investigation. The systematic starvation is fueling violence, disease, and deaths across the state's 34 prisons, costing taxpayers millions in healthcare and security expenses.

Key Facts

  1. Georgia spends $1.77-$2.20 per prisoner per day on food, far below USDA's $10 minimum for adult male nutrition
  2. Prisoners report losing 30-50 pounds in six months, with some eating toothpaste to calm hunger pangs
  3. DOJ's 2024 report documented deaths from dehydration and renal failure after prisoners were denied food and water for days
  4. Rogers State Prison food superintendent receives bonuses for staying under budget by 'shaking the spoon'—serving smaller portions
  5. Nutritional analysis found Georgia prison meals contain only 40% of required protein and 1 serving of vegetables per day versus USDA's 3-5 servings

Quotables

They will starve you — I'm telling you they will starve you

By the time the trays get there, the grits are stuck to the pan, the milk's clumpy, and the vegetables taste like dirt

What’s New

  • Investigation reveals 'shaking the spoon' practice where food supervisors deliberately short portions to earn budget bonuses
  • Private contractors like Trinity Services Group profit from both inadequate meals and inflated commissary sales to hungry prisoners

Accountability

Food Service Superintendent Ms. Gunner at Rogers State Prison; Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner; Trinity Services Group and Aramark executives

Reporting Leads

  1. Rogers State Prison kitchen workers and former head baker 'Hatrack' who worked 2022-2025
  2. GDC food budget contracts and vendor agreements with Trinity Services Group and Aramark
  3. Medical records from Calhoun, Ware, and Smith State Prisons showing malnutrition-related deaths

Related Assets

Source Article

Starved and Silenced: The Hidden Crisis Inside Georgia Prisons
#Georgia #Prisons #PrisonFood #Malnutrition #PrivatePrisons #DOJ #PrisonReform #HumanRights

Press Contact

Georgia Prisoners' Speak
media@gps.press