Censorship
Why does the AZ DOC think these are dangerous?
Food theft ring at Perryville?
We’ve been doing investigative reporting on allegations of food theft out of Complex Kitchen. Staff and inmate workers report unusual truck activity at night. A pallet of tomatoes, with a yellow bar code sticker attached, said, “Tomatoes diced chunks/ 6 of 20” was delivered by a Sysco truck. Workers said within hours of being delivered to Complex, those tomatoes were gone, taken by a truck with no plates, according to witnesses.
When some special trucks come into Complex loading dock, inmate workers are told to go inside and not come out for any reason. Two weeks after the real Aramark staff left Arizona, these are the items the inmates claim they never see anymore on their trays, even though they remain on the menu: cheese, real potatoes, fortified juice packets, tomato chunks, meat balls, mixed fruit cups, fat free milk, vegan patties.
EVERYTHING is Broken in Perryville
Nothing works…not even one.
FOOD: Aramark was supposed to be the first thing that really changed for the good in the last 16 years, but alas, that too broke after only 3 weeks. While the Aramark supervisors were here, the prison food made a tremendous improvement and inmates actually had good nutrition. Three weeks later, the Aramark crew flew back east again, and left the food in the hands of the Trinity “retreads”. Same bad habits, different colored shirt. Inmate kitchen workers claim they’ve observed old Trinity workers eating the Aramark food themselves, and taking it home, i.e. chicken breasts, cheese.
Inmate eyewitnesses allege the Aramark recipe/measurement manual is not followed anymore, and menus are whatever the workers slap together. Gravy, syrup and cheese sauce are all ” watered down”. Potato menu items listed as: Hash browns, Lyonnaise, Cajun, and French fries, are ALL the same dehydrated, sliced small frisbee’s. Every meal, no matter what name they call them, the potatoes are undercooked, white, cardboard circles, with no seasonings at all…and served cold. “State Issue” measuring spoons only half filled. (As reported in separate article, the men served out of the same kitchen are given full state issue, temped properly, and adhering to the menu.)
We have 2 printed menus from Aramark, one for Medium/Max custody (Lumley, Cruz) and one labeled Minimum custody (San Carlos). They are identical except Lumley/Cruz, on their Tuesday sack lunch, has 2 additional items….string cheese and saltine crackers! We’ve always been told it was a privilege to be minimum custody, but Med/Max gets more food. Trinity, at least had “restaurant” meals you could buy for a small mortgage each Saturday. It was something to look forward to in the inmate’s pitiful lives. Aramark promised the same thing….but now say it will be about a YEAR until it’s implemented!
We’d like to congratulate the salesman that talked Director Thornell into Aramark.
The other side of the food coin is the commissary store. Keefe/Trinity merged into one company, but in Perryville, Trinity had the kitchen contract and Keefe had the store. Aramark may have recently acquired the kitchen, but the same corporation kept the contract on the store. Inmates have grieved the constant price increases that have far outpaced inflation at the commissary.
Prisoners have had the same 10¢ starting wage since 1973, with the legislature denying any raises. That bag of chicken meat that used to cost .48 cents now costs $3.77. Keefe has not kept essentials in stock, like a comb or brush, it has not been “available” for over a year. No mayo in four months….forget making a simple tuna sandwich. Eating, in the Arizona prison system sucks!
WATER: Government water agencies and news outlets, have kept the public apprised of the toxic contamination seeping into the ground water from Luke Air Force base over the years. Perryville knew about it. Why do you think they advised all their staff NOT to drink the tap water at the prison? Visitors to Perryville were greeted with signs, “Do not drink the water.” But then the visitors predictably asked the prison, “If the water is not good enough for me or your staff, why are you making my daughter drink it?”
California prisons give their residents free bottled water. Arizona makes them buy it at the commissary for $1.37 a piece. Perryville gals have a less expensive workaround. The 7lb bagged ice they can buy on the store for $2.05, is made out of purified water. They melt the ice, and fill their empty soda bottles with pure water for pennies on the dollar. It beats drinking carcinogens your entire sentence.
COMPUTERS: Are run by Securus, and it is broken. The Medical app has had nonstop problems since its inception. Recently, when an inmate pulls the pharmacy tab for a refill on her prescription, instead of going to the pharmacy department, the request goes to Medical and she’s put on Nurses line! Carlos has 1300 people and most take some kind of medication. In that tiny medical lobby, no bigger than a phone booth, now crams half the population waiting for a simple refill. It’s madness.
The Communication app on the tablet rarely communicates anything. Emails to staff go unanswered. They tried doing grievances on it, but Securus can’t seem to set it up correctly. Inmates stopped using it because it doesn’t work! COIII’s tear their hair out trying to get their inmate client load released on time due to “computer errors”.
The tablets themselves are made in China (there’s a clue) and they break all the time. A year ago new inmates received a tablet right away. Now, due to a labor problem in China (?) inmates wait a month. For current residents whose tablet dies, they are put on a waiting list that might take 2 months.
HEALTH (Naphcare): The perpetually broken, for-profit, No Care Naphcare, has been written about extensively. Space for this article does not allow for a reiteration of hundreds of those horror stories. Instead, we will offer the latest update on the cost savings measures taken by this company to insure greater profits for its stockholders, which put the inmate’s lives in critical danger. Reportedly, cancer patients are not being taken to their Oncologists, treatments are not started on time, follow-up appointments are not scheduled, and outright refusals of pain relief are alleged.
There are only THREE schedulers employed at Perryville…… for the whole population!! How can they possibly get outside appointments for mammograms, MRI’s, pre surgery scans of all types, specialists for eyes, ENT, orthopedic, GYN, Endocrinologist, and all others in a timely manner?
They are short-staffed transport guards….how do the patients even get to these appointments? This is how these major healthcare insurance companies make money….they delay, delay, treatment until the patient is so acute she needs emergency care. So, many develop diseases that are easily curable in the early stages, but become a death sentence because of deliberate indifference.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Beyond broken. Media has shed a light on some of the crooked and downright ILLEGAL misappropriation of funds dealing with maintenance. The most recent exposé was by Channel 12 regarding the money spent on air conditioning units, that never made it to cool the inmates. Some units were installed for the comfort of the staff, some cannibalized for parts, most never accounted for, but that money went into someone’s pocket.
Structures on 2 man cell units left to rot, until the stairway on Pedro collapsed. Santa Maria and Pedro not able to pass code inspections and shut down. This led to the severe overcrowding seen on the Units left that are functional. Will Pie/Rosa and Carlos fall down like the 2 man cell units?
Reports indicate a recent uptick in GAS LEAK calls to the Fire Department, and inmates told to evacuate their bays because of gas smells. Residents complain in Town Hall meetings about mold in the showers, backed-up sewage odor permeating the bays, and washer/dryers that cease to work.
A casual inspection of the buildings show deteriorating foundations. Where does that maintenance money go?
Conclusion: As long as the American style of criminal justice reigns supreme, Perryville prison, will continue to be broken. Unfortunately, the women inside the prison will be irrevocably broken too. A casualty of a red state that puts the Almighty Buck ahead of any meaningful rehabilitation, or healing from substance abuse. Arizona does not care about its most vulnerable citizens, it only cares about making money for the vast penal industrial complex. Multi-billion dollar companies exist off the pain and suffering of others. They make huge profits from incarcerating the mentally ill and homeless. Governor Hobbs and Director Thornell fell right in line. They are a vast disappointment.
Aramark: “Just give the women the leftovers!
(In the years we’ve been reporting on the prison food, this isn’t the first time this quote has been documented. We hoped the new vendor, Aramark, would not be sexist, but we were wrong. One of the reasons we think this doesn’t change is Aramark hired the same Trinity workers and just gave them a blue shirt to wear. Same attitude, a different color shirt. Many reliable sources were interviewed for this story, and we have the real names of Aramark (Trinity retreads) employees, but we’ll just use initials.–Ed.)
COMPLEX KITCHEN- Perryville: There are 3 Trinity retreads, R, C, and S. Ms. R. reportedly has been working there for 26 years. Complex kitchen also feeds a men’s prison and all Perryville units. These supervisors have repeatedly told the female inmate workers to ” keep the men’s menu exactly as written, cuz they’ll get mad if it isn’t.” “Just give the women the leftovers.” When the gals ask why this is, all 3 supervisors say, “Because that’s the way it’s always been.” Recently the kitchen ran out of sweet potatoes, which were on the menu for both genders, and indeed the men all got sweet potatoes. What did Perryville get? Mashed up, dehydrated regular potato slices from breakfast, in a cold lumpy paste! Supervisor C. said, “The women will take whatever and no one cares.”
Inmate workers all agree Aramark has superior fresher ingredients than Trinity. They were also impressed that Aramark prepared food only one day in advance, versus Trinity’s three-day prep which tended to spoil. Workers appreciated the little things, like butter instead of water in baked goods. Apparently, Aramark requires a full “state issue” serving, so that’s good too.
Now brace yourself. Our sources are terrified of what will happen when the REAL Aramark employees go home. What? Since the transfer of Trinity to Aramark, full-time Aramark employees from back east were staying in hotels, and supervising everything from food service to hiring people. (retreads) In a few short weeks, they are all flying home! That leaves Perryville in the clutches of Trinity’s failure team and bad habits. There are guardrails on the retreads now, what will happen to the food when Aramark supervisors leave? We’ll be keeping our eye on it, and reporting back to our readers.
Carlos making 1380 women eat in ONE kitchen
Since the advent of Aramark’s good food and nutrition on Sept 30th, the entire population of San Carlos wants to eat in the chow hall. Instead of making this transition easier, DW Tony Baloney is making it much more difficult. There are TWO kitchens at Carlos, for breakfast and lunch he makes all the women funnel in ONE door at one chow hall. Only at dinner does he open both dining halls.
A Carlos inmate now has her entire life revolve around eating three times a day. Hey, it’s a step up from zero in her miserable existence, before it was 24 hours of sensory deprivation PLUS lousy food. At least now standing in line for 3 hours per day nets her something gratifying…. delicious food.
Aramark rollout Perryville
One thing we know for sure about the first 24 hours of Aramark food is….it’s VERY popular with the residents. All units report long lines “to the I-10 freeway” (hyperbole obviously), but the meaning is clear, people that never ate prison food, are going to the chow hall.
Our research shows that Trinity/Keefe started at Perryville in 2010. That means nutrition and taste have been mostly missing from the women’s diet for 14 years. Initial emails extolled the bliss of the “fresh fruit cup” with bananas, apples, and orange slices. Raves poured in about the sausage….no longer “shmeat” (mechanically separated chicken parts mixed with TVP, a textured vegetable protein infused with solvents) but a real sausage patty, tender and delicious, and pancakes with REAL maple syrup! The only thing negative we heard was the way the DOC handled the unusual crush of people going to the kitchen. We will report back with more foodie reviews after a few weeks!
Bad Actors on Their Way Out
We think Thornell has their number.
The bad actors are Trinity, purveyors of fine shmeat, slop, rats, cockroaches, expired food, ecoli, toddler portions, and mystery meals. No Care Naphcare: The worst for-profit, healthcare vendor Peeville has ever had, in our humble opinion. We stopped counting preventable deaths and horrible outcomes with these Cretans. Keefe, the commissary half of Trinity: Hater of anything nutritious, no veggies, no sir. All chips and candy and ultra-processed substances, guaranteed to give inmates diabetes, high blood pressure, and every cancer known to man.
Trinity’s last day serving slop is August 31st. Aramark takes over on September 1st. Trusted sources tell us, Keefe will get the boot at the end of the year. In the meantime, they raised prices through the roof in anticipation. And Naphcare, hopefully, will be gone by the end of next week on August 30th.
Judge Silver, just nuke the whole damn thing!
What is Director Thornell thinking?
We’ve been hearing for almost two years now, how Thornell wants to improve the nutrition of his residents. We were overjoyed when we heard Aramark was taking over but assumed that meant the commissary too…..not so fast. Aramark only produces the food in the KITCHEN, the chow hall.
The inmates still have to eat that Keefe rubbish at the store?! We’ve been writing articles for years about how unhealthy Keefe store “food” is, and they’re still keeping them?? Nothing but high sodium, high sugar, ultra-refined carbs guaranteed to give diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and heart attacks.
It all comes down to the Almighty Buck doesn’t it……artificial low bids by Keefe and major kickbacks to the ADCRR.
Aramark: Our new food vendor as of September 1st
After more than a decade of making residents sick and their wallets lighter, Trinity/Keefe has finally been given the heave-ho by ADCRR. If you look through the archived articles we’ve written about rats and rotten food directly attributed to Trinity, you’ll understand why we’re happy to see them go. May they rot in their “shmeat”!
We’ve been sitting on this story for a month now. Why rush to press when there was so much info and interviews to gather? We actually have a source, that talked to real live women in three states, that have Aramark as their food vendor. They like it. The gals especially enjoyed the food that could be bought by them, like Keefe’s Trinity meal, and the meals available for purchase by their families, like Keefe’s Secure Pak. We’re not sure we believe the $20 steak meal, salads, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, but one can always hope there’s a Santa.
Apparently, the daily food in the chow hall is tasty and healthy. Go ahead and look up their catalog online like we did…wow. That $50 banquet is going to make some lucky inmate very happy.
Of course, here’s the caveat….. what will the DOC let them sell? Keefe allegedly had good food in their catalog too, that doesn’t mean the DOC let inmates buy it. If the ADCRR wants to keep them eating nothing but junk food, then by golly that’s all Aramark is going to sell.
We have to report the not-so-good side of Aramark too, so here it is: Prison Legal News, May 2024/ “Aramark, Prison Food For Thought.” That article will make your hair curl. The reality for Perryville women will probably be somewhere in between. We interviewed people who remember when Keefe first started. They had good stuff too, large portions, etc., but every year their quality and quantity tapered off into garbage. All profiteers that make money off mass incarceration, can’t be expected to provide good service to inmates. After all, the inmate is NOT the customer….. the state is…and that’s who they have to keep happy.
Are These Some Of The Reasons Perryville Residents Have Such An Alarming Rate Of Cancer?
This took some deep digging, and investigative interviews to finally nail down what is labeled “Not for human consumption”. The prevailing answer was it’s the “mechanically separated chicken” inmates call shmeat.
But no! It is something much more diabolical, and so hush-hush, that even the white shirts won’t talk about it. It comes in a brown cardboard box, unlabeled except for the initials TVP. What is this? Textured Vegetable Protein.
The reason it’s an issue is that the product contains HEXANE which is used in the manufacturing process. HEXANE is a known carcinogen. This is the stuff that is mixed with the chicken parts to make it go farther.
The only fake sweetener available to prisoners, both in the kitchen and on the commissary, is Aspartame/Saccharin. The FDA says this is a carcinogen.
Keefe makes three shampoos, two body washes, and a dandruff product marketed to prisoners. ALL of them contain *pyrethezone zinc* and *cocamide DEA* . These chemicals are outlawed in 14 states and the FDA requires a warning label on all products. (California inmates can’t buy them because they’re banned)
McDonald’s Happy Meal Has 50% More “Nuggets”
The profiteering Trinity gives women an average of 4 chicken nuggets in a bag, while McDonald’s CHILDREN’S meal has 6. The women receive food portions not deemed adequate for a child. Half-sized food portions are the norm, and mechanically separated chicken (bone, beaks, legs, gristle no extra charge) are the main staple.
