Joe Arpaio’s 55 Cent Thanksgiving Meal For Inmates
Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is spending a penny less this year per inmate for their Thanksgiving meal. The cost of the meal this year adds up to 55 cents per prisoner.
[su_center_ad]Like last year, prisoners will be feasting on a 24-cent vegetarian turkey soy casserole.
For a side dish, prisoners will get one cup of mashed potatoes which will cost 11 cents.
The other dishes include:
Glazed carrots, 1 cup, 6 cents
Cranberry sauce (donated), 2 ounces
Fresh fruit, 4 ounces, 8 cents
Brownie parfait (donated), 1 cup
Dinner roll, 1 each, 4 cents
Margarine, 2 each 2 cents
That totals 55 cents.
In September of 2013, Arpaio implemented a vegetarian diet for inmates in order to save $100,000 on food costs for prisoners.
Then in March he announced plans to charge inmates $1 for their meals.
“Everybody else has to pay for their food, why should [inmates] get freebies?” Arpaio said.
Last year’s menu:
Thanksgiving menu is all set! Hope the inmates give thanks for this special meal being served in the jails tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/3L5vcWX8Jc
— Joe Arpaio (@RealSheriffJoe) November 27, 2013
When you sit down for your Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, be grateful for the little things – because you’d never get them on Apraio’s watch.
H/T: @ComgenKDT with thanks. [su_csky_ad]
Image: AP
tiredoftea November 26th, 2014 at 5:34 pm
“Hope the inmates give thanks for this special meal being served in the jails tomorrow.” The ones that survive, anyway.
Tommy6860 November 26th, 2014 at 6:30 pm
You’re probably right, considering he compared his outdoor tent prisons to concentration camps.
StoneyCurtisll November 26th, 2014 at 5:39 pm
Sheriff Joe could save even more money if he just made the family’s of his prisoners feed the inmates..
I’m surprised he hasn’t implemented this yet..
Arpaio is a piece of garbage.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 10:46 pm
DO NOT give that piece of trash any ideals!
tracey marie November 26th, 2014 at 6:08 pm
there is nothing wrong with veggie meals, the amounts and what he serves does not fill even the basic needs of the body to function. This man is cruel, petty and needs to be investigated
granpa.usthai November 26th, 2014 at 7:45 pm
good thing the founding fathers left out ‘cruel and unusual punishment’, huh?
Robert M. Snyder November 26th, 2014 at 9:30 pm
“the amounts and what he serves does not fill even the basic needs of the body to function”
More than a few high school students have said the same thing about the new school lunches.
tracey marie November 26th, 2014 at 9:38 pm
stop already, you are like a broken record of ignorance
mcalleyboy November 27th, 2014 at 1:54 am
These poor convicts will probably out live you and when there done with their time maybe you can invite them to your house for a good cooked meal, doesn’t that sound delicious.
whatthe46 November 27th, 2014 at 2:13 am
oh stop.
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
Veggie meals are OK on occasion, but a steady diet of ‘veggie’ meals isn’t good for your health. Humans are omnivorous, and meat provides some essential nutrition.
tracey marie November 28th, 2014 at 7:12 am
Not true, all the nutrients you need can be found in a veggitarean diet. I personally could never give up meat
Red Eye Robot November 26th, 2014 at 6:42 pm
there is a real simple way to avoid Sheriff Joe’s Thanksgiving dinner.
Obewon November 26th, 2014 at 7:25 pm
There’s a real simple way to avoid the Millions taxpayers pay out annually for Arpaio’s lawsuit losses. Insurers require Arpaio’s taxpayers to pay the first $5 M of every lawsuit.
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:03 am
Most liability insurance requires reasonable precautions and due care in operations. They could, as least conceivably, refuse to pay due to incompetence, carelessness, etc…Arpaio is doing this on purpose.
granpa.usthai November 26th, 2014 at 7:43 pm
stay out of his little US funded self proclaimed kingdom? – and miss all the fun of his gang of thieves flipping off the IRS like the millionaire welfare kow farmer in Nevada?
-not likely pilgrim.
StoneyCurtisll November 26th, 2014 at 8:00 pm
“there is a real simple way to avoid Sheriff Joe’s Thanksgiving dinner.”
Be white, wealthy and have the means/money to hire a decent attorney.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 11:41 pm
Fire the bastard?
mcalleyboy November 27th, 2014 at 1:52 am
Exactly obey the law………DUGH! do-gooder’s don’t get this.
whatthe46 November 27th, 2014 at 2:11 am
HA! do-gooder’s. and what if they are actually innocent and were obeying the law. there have been 1 or 2 you know. lol
Pat Padrnos November 26th, 2014 at 7:21 pm
This is very sad. What an unusual man. His need for power and control are amazing.
Obewon November 26th, 2014 at 7:32 pm
Mentally ill Arpaio suffers from well proven delusions of grandeur AKA delusional disorder paranoia.
Pat Padrnos November 26th, 2014 at 8:21 pm
When any of us think of Thanksgiving we think of a wonderful meal with all of the “good stuff”. I would wish that for anyone – anywhere.
mcalleyboy November 27th, 2014 at 1:51 am
He’s dealing with criminals, is there something missing here, he’s saving money and a role model and a lesson to those that break the law, it’s not gonna be pleasant for you, so if you obey laws and I think you do, why would you care about someone who doesn’t and doesn’t care about you, strange.
Pat Padrnos November 27th, 2014 at 8:05 am
Strange indeed.
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:42 pm
If sure those that haven’t been sentenced yet, and those that are innocent would beg to differ.
granpa.usthai November 26th, 2014 at 7:39 pm
cost $0.55/charges $1.00?
$0.45 X 3X7X52X(X)= a lot of $$$ going into shyster Sheriff pink panties pockets.
has anyone thought to seek any accounting records on this gangster with a county badge?
whatthe46 November 26th, 2014 at 8:48 pm
can anyone say “shawshank redemption?”
StoneyCurtisll November 26th, 2014 at 9:08 pm
great movie~!
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 9:21 pm
Better novella.
whatthe46 November 27th, 2014 at 2:08 am
i bet.
whatthe46 November 27th, 2014 at 2:08 am
just happened to have watched it a couple of nights ago.
Doug Adams November 26th, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Tomorrow is just another day but I hope everyone here, has a happy day tomorrow. If you can please, be kind to those you love. Peace
Anomaly 100 November 26th, 2014 at 8:22 pm
<3
StoneyCurtisll November 26th, 2014 at 8:55 pm
No worries…
Cause..
It’s a ‘Beautiful World’…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56u6g0POvo0
tracey marie November 26th, 2014 at 9:43 pm
It is a day of thanks, most do not realize it was originaly declared a holiday to commemerate the signing of the DOI.
Spirit of America November 26th, 2014 at 11:51 pm
Nice thought, Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
And for some, do the really hard thing and be kind to those you don’t love.
RK Johnston November 28th, 2014 at 2:12 am
Same to you, ‘mano!
Hope your turkey (or Tofurkey) didn’y flip you the boid!
–RKJ
Bob Cronos November 26th, 2014 at 8:52 pm
There’s a jail in Idaho where you get one chicken pot pie for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner… Don’t ask me how I know this… Suffice to say, after eating 88 of them one month just the thought of chicken pot pie makes my stomach turn…
Arpaio’s inmates have it made… Happy Thanksgiving!
whatthe46 November 26th, 2014 at 9:01 pm
if you say so.
StoneyCurtisll November 26th, 2014 at 9:08 pm
In Colorado chicken ‘pot’ pies have a whole new meaning..
scrumptious edibles.
whatthe46 November 26th, 2014 at 8:53 pm
so, not one person in his jail hasn’t been convicted? there are absolutely no innocent people in his jail? not that it would matter so much, but the fact that he’s treating everyone like the scum of the earth w/o an ounce of humanity is quite fk’n sick.
Wayout November 27th, 2014 at 7:49 am
In contrast to some foreign jails, they are being treated like kings. Spare me the angst over people in the can. Sheriff Joe’s way of operating the Maricopa County Jail saves the taxpayers lot’s of money.
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:40 pm
Which is payed out anyway through the lawsuits. Treat them as humans and most of the lawsuits go away.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 9:19 pm
Where I spent time, this would cause inmates to pick up their trays, and head straight to the scullery line.Nobody would sit. Nobody would eat.
Robert M. Snyder November 26th, 2014 at 9:27 pm
If any of us bought those same items in a grocery store, it would probably cost a lot more. Four ounces of fresh fruit for only 8 cents? Where I shop, apples and oranges are close to a buck apiece! Would you like it better if he spent three times as much for the same food? It looks to me like Joe’s only crime is “driving a hard bargain” with his suppliers.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 9:38 pm
I’ll enlighten you on some things: Cabbage (raw, no dressing) is called “salad”.
Fresh Fruit is oversupply oranges, which the farmer couldn’t sell.
Turkey loaf (processed w/water, soy protein added) is “Turkey”
Yesterday’s bread? Dessert, i.e.”Bread pudding”.
Enjoy that luxurious Thanksgiving feast.
Robert M. Snyder November 26th, 2014 at 10:25 pm
Let me exchange the favor and enlighten you on some things. One of my neighbors is a guard at a local, privately-operated prison. He told me that every inmate in that facility is an illegal immigrant. Most were convicted for selling drugs. The maximum sentence is nine years. The typical is much less. He told me the place is run like a country club. The inmates look at their jail time as a cost of doing business. Many say they don’t mind serving a few years, because when they get out they will still have the financial assets they got from dealing drugs. They show him photos of expensive boats and cars that they claim to own. They eat great meals, and the guards are not allowed to even look at them sideways. The guards treat the inmates with respect, and the vast majority of the inmates treat the guards with respect. My neighbor told me that a few of them seem like the kind of people you’d want to have a beer with.
Here’s the thing: They came here illegally and got caught dealing drugs. And now we are paying to house them and feed them. Every one of them gets free healthcare. Meanwhile, my local school district, where both of my kids went to school, is at the 7th percentile in our state. 93% of districts in the state are doing better.
I don’t know about Joe Arpaio’s inmates, but if the inmates in my local prison have to eat crap for Thanksgiving, that’s fine with me.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 10:40 pm
Just to let you know, that “Free healthcare” you’re touting?
You’re going to wait to see an actual physician for several months, and on the same day as 50 other inmates.Follow up for any problems found? Wait another 4-7 months.
That “Respect” those c.o.s treat the prisoners with? IT’S THEIR DUE!THEY’RE MEN, NOT SLAVES OR ANIMALS!
“Great meals”? Not from the prison chow hall. I guarantee you; they most likely have someone sending them money.(Maybe…MAYBE even money that doesn’t come from drugs?)
They came here illegally? They’re being deported at the end of their sentence…no exception.
Your school system? Who in your state legislature decided to spend more on prisons than on schools?
Arpaio could get his face slowly ripped off with rusty pliers in front of his illegitimate children, and I would still think he was being treated kindly.
He’s a grandstanding, felonious dirtbag who prospers from the suffering of others.
I just hope your children never have to experience the joy that is prison.
(And no, there’s no frikking cable TV, either.)
Robert M. Snyder November 26th, 2014 at 11:04 pm
“(And no, there’s no frikking cable TV, either.)”
According to my neighbor the guard, they definitely have TV in his prison. About 15 years ago, a different prison was built about 15 miles from here. We toured it with our children during the open house, while it was still empty. It was not a place I’d want to live, but every cell had a specially-made TV with a transparent housing so that contraband could not be hidden inside. Someone in our tour group asked why TVs were provided. The response was that it keeps people occupied which reduces tensions and makes the guards’ jobs easier. As I recall, the inmates had to perform work to earn credits that they could exchange for TV time. That seems reasonable.
What burns me is that we spend more per year to house an inmate than we do to educate a public school student.
I have become well-acquainted with a Guatemalan family that came here legally. They work long hours operating their pizza shop. They paid the attorney fees to bring a few relatives here legally, and in some cases those relatives waited years to come. The taxes paid by this Guatemalan family should be going to the school so their kids can get a good education. And my neighbor, the prison guard, should be working for the school district as a maintenance person or a shop teacher.
This is a depressed, rural area, with a lot of century-old wood frame houses. I taught robotics classes in the evenings for about six years at this school. One evening I overheard two students discussing how they can see their breath when they wake up in the morning, because their bedrooms are not heated. Do you think any of the inmates in these new prisons ever sees his breath in the morning?
When I was teaching robotics, we were so happy when we applied for and received a $10K grant. We used it to buy workstations, electronics components, a small milling machine, and other equipment. That $10K was hard to get, but it provided a lot of benefit. It makes me sick to think that each prisoner housed in the prison down the road costs more than $10K per year.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 11:25 pm
I said CABLE T.V., BTW.
As for the rest, vote in legislators who will work towards educating the future of America, instead of giving profit to privately owned prisons, and voting for ever-increasing penalties for people who could easily and more correctly pay their dues by being citizens, and not inmates.
No,murderers shouldn’t get to go free..
No, rapists and child molesters shouldn’t get a pass.
But there’s no black and white.
Ever.
That money you decry being spent on incarceration? Take a look at where inmates used to be housed…and don’t ignore the rats or mold…
Want to expose your state to the lawsuits that result in a guy convicted of burglary dying from rabies?
Look:
I’m not saying to let these guys run wild and free…all that I’m saying is that you cannot interpret the laws of the U.S. in any way that allows you to treat prisoners like you think they should be treated….you have to treat them like PEOPLE who are being set apart from SOCIETY because they broke the law.
Nothing less.
(Also, until YOU spend some time in an actual prison, your opinion means exactly D!CK to me.)
Robert M. Snyder November 26th, 2014 at 11:45 pm
“Also, until YOU spend some time in an actual prison, your opinion means exactly D!CK to me.”
Yeah, because the people who pay the taxes used to operate the prisons, and the crime victims, have absolutely no right to an opinion if they haven’t actually live in a prison. Give me a break.
If you’ve done time for a crime that you actually committed, then you should be looking for ways to pay back your debt to society, because you sucked up resources that could have been used to help kids with cancer and other law-abiding people in need. If we didn’t have to operate so many prisons, we could do a LOT more for people who play by the rules and fall on hard times.
If a prisoner is getting enough calories to maintain their bodyweight, I frankly couldn’t care less whether it is appetizing. And as far as those waiting times for medical services, try reading the British newspaper websites. Those times might look pretty good to a Brit who is trying to schedule a procedure through the NHS, or to a US veteran who is trying to schedule a procedure at a VA hospital. Cry me a river.
Anomaly 100 November 26th, 2014 at 11:51 pm
I lived in London for years. The health care system was great.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 11:52 pm
Anomaly, I ask pardon for what I’m currently thinking about this poster…
John_St_John November 27th, 2014 at 11:19 am
Want me to ship you a baseball bat Hirightnow?
Hirightnow November 27th, 2014 at 11:28 am
Aluminum?
Because those wooden ones tend to splinter after heavy use…
Robert M. Snyder November 27th, 2014 at 12:04 am
From an article in The Telegraph:
“The latest official waiting times data bears that out as the target to treat 90 per cent of people who need to be admitted to hospital within 18 weeks of their GP referring them was missed in June. It meant 32,500 people waited longer than this.”
In the words of the NHS itself:
“The current financial crisis, rising costs of services, energy and supplies; innovations and technological breakthroughs that require more investment – along with higher numbers of people to cater for – all spell out a huge economic disaster for the NHS.”
“It is estimated that without radical changes to the way the system works, as demand rises, and costs rise too, the NHS will become unsustainable, with huge financial pressures and debts. If we make no changes we face a £30 billion funding gap for the NHS nationally by 2020.”
References:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11018642/Waiting-times-in-NHS-at-worst-for-six-
years.htmlhttp://www.myhealth.london.nhs.uk/your-health/call-action/nhs-today
Anomaly 100 November 27th, 2014 at 7:05 am
Your link doesn’t work. I don’t recall having to wait at all to see a doctor. If I did, it was brief.
Robert M. Snyder November 27th, 2014 at 9:31 am
Here are the links again:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11018642/Waiting-times-in-NHS-at-worst-for-six-years.html
http://www.myhealth.london.nhs.uk/your-health/call-action/nhs-today
MrRibbert November 27th, 2014 at 10:42 am
If you ask people in the UK which system they would rather have, theirs or ours, they choose theirs. As far as wait time goes. There will always be a wait time because there is a finite number of doctors and equpiment. Also, when every person has healthcare then of course wait times will be longer. The next time you go to the store and there are 12 people in front of you waiting to pay, go up and down the line and kick every 4th person out of line. Guess what? Your wait is now shorter isn’t it? Funny how that works huh?
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:39 pm
long wait times are for minor injuries, elective surgeries, etc. The serious and critical go first.
Robert M. Snyder November 27th, 2014 at 1:57 pm
“The next time you go to the store and there are 12 people in front of you waiting to pay, go up and down the line and kick every 4th person out of line”
I like your example, because it illustrates a point. If you constantly find yourself waiting in long lines at a particular store, how do you handle that situation? Do you actually kick other people out of line? No. You go to another store where the lines are shorter. But you don’t have that option at the DMV. Look at what happened with the VA hospitals.
I live in a town that grew up around coal mining. The local beer distributor is in a building that was once a company store. I have heard old-timers tell stories about how their fathers were paid in scrip that they could only spend at the company store. People didn’t like being locked into a single supplier and having no choice. It’s one of the things that motivated people to support unions.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 11:51 pm
Paid my “debt to society”, asswipe.
And lost 35pounds in prison: down to 158 lbs at 6′. 0″.
Go away…you bore me.
Oh,and big PS: THIS IS AMERICA…THE UNITED STATES: We’re BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE, aren’t we?
Or should we just start chopping off thieves’ hands. and blinding people who look askance at other men’s wives?
Robert M. Snyder November 27th, 2014 at 12:15 am
“And lost 35pounds in prison: down to 158 lbs at 6′. 0″.”
My father-in-law was taller, and lost a lot more when he had lung cancer. He was so sick from chemo that, when he could eat at all, everything tasted like crap.
National Cancer Institute annual budget: $4.9 billion
Annual cost to house all US inmates: $63 billion
References:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/NCI/research-funding
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-cost-of-a-nation-of-incarceration/
mcalleyboy November 27th, 2014 at 1:48 am
I know we don’t chop anybody’s body parts off. Do we have to be better than these countries? I live in a foreign country and I won’t get any sort of free health care what so ever and the local population could give a rats behind what I think, they also could care less about Americans/Westerners, these same people are your illegal aliens, do some time overseas, across borders and see how special you are to the general population, good luck with that.
Hirightnow November 26th, 2014 at 11:58 pm
Oh, and I DO pay taxes.
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:05 am
AND those secured TV sets could have cameras in them to monitor the inmates.
mcalleyboy November 27th, 2014 at 1:44 am
And the health care in Latin America is welcoming… You show up and start paying for your tests, if you can’t pay for your tests you go no further, they’re getting excellent health care here, better to wait months for free health care then never receive it.
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:36 pm
And you need permission to go to ‘sick call’ or whatever the jail system calls it. Doctors are for serious cases, most of the time you are seen by a nurse who, if not overworked, decides if you go up the ladder to a P.A. or the doctor.
Dwendt44 November 26th, 2014 at 11:57 pm
That and the economy of scale. Buying fruit, vegetables, and day old bread wholesale cuts the cost considerably. This ‘sheriff’ doesn’t deserve the three meals he packs away every day. He’s certainly not underfed.
That may be part of why he’s been sued so often.
mcalleyboy November 27th, 2014 at 1:42 am
Excellent and good job Joe, were rooting for you, keep up the good work.
whatthe46 November 27th, 2014 at 2:00 am
sure. that is unless your a&& is arrested and awaiting to be tried and judged for a crime that you haven’t committed. i guess, innocent until proven guilty has been abandoned by your book.
mcalleyboy November 27th, 2014 at 2:11 am
Do you have the stats on that? Aren’t these people already convicted, it mentions drug dealers ect..
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:34 pm
Typically, if the sentence is over one year, you go to prison, not jail. Jail is for lesser offenses.
RK Johnston November 28th, 2014 at 2:08 am
You can do better than Wikipedia.
And, no, most of the inmates in your typical jail are either in the “drunk tank” to sober up, awaiting being bonded out after arrest, going through their trials, or appealing their sentences if convicted.
Those that are convicted are usually serving time in the county lockup for misdemeanor charges (such as failure to pay child support or Driving Under The Influence) or probation violations.
Source is the Vista Detention Center (San Diego County, CA) homepage:
http://www.sdcounty.sdsherrif.vistadetentioncenter
–RKJ
mcalleyboy November 28th, 2014 at 5:21 am
Isn’t this still a burden on the tax payers? So they won’t be housed that long and they still require punishment. I now live in the Philippines and the family members are burdened with the task of paying the food costs, the tax payer doesn’t fund food here, so illegals and US citizens still have it pretty darn good.
fancypants November 27th, 2014 at 2:02 am
.55 per meal must be the reward john Mc cain has done on immigration in his home state ?
Don’t forget to wipe the egg off your face Sheriff joe
erik thorne November 27th, 2014 at 2:06 am
Just think how much money Maricopa County might have had to feed them with if Joe had not cost them so much in all those lost lawsuits.
rg9rts November 27th, 2014 at 6:07 am
If there is a god…can you imagine the meals She will have for him ??? LOL
Wayout November 27th, 2014 at 7:44 am
Great job Sheriff Joe. Hey, if those inmates want a better Thanksgiving meal they shouldn’t do anything that gets them incarcerated.
Dwendt44 November 27th, 2014 at 12:32 pm
Just ignore those that haven’t even been tried in court yet.
mcalleyboy November 27th, 2014 at 7:59 pm
I’ll bet and if you had to spend 20 years in the military you’d say the same thing but you didn’t.
lynnie b November 28th, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Dr Chilton does enjoy his petty torments…Hannibal Lecter