Can You Send Food Packages to Inmates in New York?
, by Jahmaxx Care Packages, 8 min reading time
Yes, you can send food packages to incarcerated individuals in New York State prisons, but only through a vendor — there is no exception allowing families to mail food directly. Each person may receive three food packages per month with a combined weight of no more than 40 pounds, counted by arrival date rather than order date.
Quick answer: Yes, you can send food packages to incarcerated individuals in New York State prisons, but only through a vendor — there is no exception allowing families to mail food directly, and the two-packages-per-year family allowance applies to non-food items only. Each person may receive three food packages per month with a combined weight of no more than 40 pounds, counted by arrival date rather than order date.
This page covers New York State facilities operated by DOCCS. City jails, including those on Rikers Island, are run by a separate agency under different rules.
The short version of what is allowed
Under NYS DOCCS Directive #4911, food packages must be shipped directly from a vendor that is not on the DOCCS disapproved vendor list. Family and friends cannot mail food from home, from a grocery store, or from a bakery, and cannot bring it during a visit.
This is worth stating precisely because the rule is often described too broadly. The directive allows up to two non-food packages per calendar year sent directly by family or friends. Food gets no such allowance. If it is edible, it comes from a vendor.
Three packages, forty pounds — and the counting rule that catches people
Each incarcerated individual may receive three food packages per month, with a combined weight not exceeding 40 pounds.
The part that costs families money: packages are counted by when they arrive at the facility, not when you placed the order. Order three packages in the last week of a month and if shipping runs slow, some of them land in the next month — or worse, they arrive on top of packages someone else already sent.
The directive also flags a specific failure mode. Some vendors operate as third-party fulfillment services and split a single order across multiple shipments. Each box that arrives counts as one package. A family places what they think is one order, three boxes show up, and the monthly allowance is gone. Anything over the limit is denied.
Two things to do before ordering: coordinate with anyone else who might be sending, and ask the vendor whether your order ships as one box or several.
What food is actually allowed
Attachment A of Directive 4911 is the governing list. Below is what it permits and what it rules out.
Ingredients that disqualify an item outright
- Alcohol in any form, including as an ingredient
- Creatine
- Vitamin, nutrient, or protein-enriched foods and drink mixes
- Energy foods and drink mixes
- Poppy seeds
- Marshmallows, or anything containing them
- Hot peppers, whole or in pieces
- Peppers or hot sauce above 3,600 Scoville units
Sources and states that disqualify an item
- Frozen food, food requiring freezing, or food that has been previously frozen
- USDA or government surplus food
- Home, bakery, restaurant, or delicatessen prepared food
That last one is broader than people expect. A tray from a restaurant, a cake from a bakery, anything made in someone’s kitchen — none of it can go, regardless of who ships it.
Packaging: the most common reason food is rejected
Every food item except fresh fruit and vegetables must arrive commercially packaged in an airtight, hermetically sealed container — a heat-sealed plastic bag or a vacuum-sealed pouch.
Seals made of paper, plastic film, or foil do not qualify. The directive gives examples: a tubular potato chip container, a powdered drink mix container wrapped in a plastic seal, a coffee creamer jar with a paper or foil seal. All disallowed.
A cardboard or paper outer box is fine, as long as the item inside it is separately heat-sealed in plastic. Resealable packaging is permitted. And every item must carry a commercially printed ingredients list.
No glass. No cans.
Category limits
- Beverages and liquids, including concentrates — pouches or boxes only, 32 oz max each
- Dry drink mixes — 32 oz max each
- Pouched food — 16 oz max, must not require cooking; microwavable is fine, cans are not
- Bread and pastry — permitted
- Candy — no chewing gum, no hollow candy or hollow components (the directive names Twizzlers and lollipop sticks)
- Cheese — sliced or chunk
- Coffee — permitted
- Condiments — 16 oz max, hot sauce 7 oz max. The permitted list: ketchup, mustard (including Dijon and hot), honey, mayonnaise, sweet relish, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, Goya Sazón flavored packets, taco sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste
- Dried coffee creamer — 16 oz max
- Fruit — fresh only; no dried fruit
- Meats — must be ready to eat: pre-cooked, cured, smoked, or cold cuts
- Nuts — shelled
- Oatmeal and cereal — no raisin varieties
- Raisins — 2 oz maximum per package
- Rice, pasta, and sides — subject to the no-cooking-required rule
- Seafood — cooked, cured, or smoked only; no shells
- Snacks — chips, pretzels, cheese twists, crackers, cookies and similar. No uncooked popcorn. No mixes containing raisins.
- Vegetables — fresh, not requiring cooking, except at facilities that permit cooking. Mushrooms must be commercially packaged.
The raisin rules look odd until you notice the pattern: raisins are capped at 2 oz per package, oatmeal with raisins is out, and snack mixes containing raisins are out. Fermentable sugar is the concern.
Dietary and cultural needs
Nothing in Directive 4911 restricts food by cuisine or dietary practice. The rules govern ingredients, packaging, and preparation state — not what tradition the food comes from. Caribbean staples, Spanish and Latin foods, and vegan items are all sendable provided they meet the same sealing, ingredient, and no-cooking-required requirements as anything else. Ground provisions fall under the fresh vegetable rules, which means they are permitted where they do not require cooking, and permitted more broadly at facilities where cooking is allowed.
If food arrives spoiled, it is destroyed and nobody reimburses you
The directive is direct about this. The Department is not responsible for articles damaged in shipping or received in spoiled condition. Spoiled food, contaminated items, and anything in a broken or leaking container are treated as a health risk and destroyed by the facility. The destruction gets recorded on Form #1755F, the food package record.
There is no refund process on the DOCCS side. Whatever you paid is gone.
This is the single strongest argument for paying attention to how a vendor handles perishables — particularly cheese, cooked meats, and fresh produce. Ask how they pack, how long the item sits before it ships, and what they do if something arrives compromised.
Who cannot receive food packages
Before ordering, confirm the person is eligible. Directive 4911 excludes or restricts several groups:
- Reception status — no packages for 30 days from the date of reception at a reception or classification facility. This catches families of people who were recently sentenced.
- Special Housing Unit — restricted under Directive #4933 instead.
- In-transit — no packages while temporarily housed at another facility.
- Lakeview Shock Incarceration, Drug Treatment Centers, CASAT, Work Release, IASAT, and Edgecombe Residential Treatment Facility — no packages unless specifically authorized by the Deputy Commissioner for Correctional Facilities.
There is also a disciplinary path. If someone is serving a disposition that includes loss of package privileges, packages received after the first five days are returned unopened, and if they order one themselves while under that disposition, they are charged for the return.
What has to be on the package
Two label requirements decide whether a package reaches the package room at all:
- The incarcerated individual’s full name and DIN (Department Identification Number) on the packaging
- A return address printed or affixed by the vendor — handwritten return addresses are not accepted
A package with a handwritten, missing, or insufficient return address gets x-rayed and then opened. If nothing prohibited is found, the person chooses between shipping it back at their own expense or having it destroyed.
Facility rules can differ
Directive 4911 sets the statewide floor, but each facility also operates under its own Facility Operating Procedures. The directive itself points at this in places — fresh vegetables requiring cooking are allowed only where cooking is permitted, and various items need a local permit issued facility by facility. The Commissioner can also suspend any part of the directive at any or all facilities.
Before a large food order, confirm current rules with the specific facility.
Ordering food that clears
Jahmaxx Care Packages ships food packages directly to NYS DOCCS facilities, packs to the Directive 4911 sealing requirements, and ships each order as a single shipment rather than splitting it across boxes. Browse meats, cheese, snacks, fruits, vegetables, seafood, or the full catalog. See our store information for shipping details.
Related reading: Directive 4911: What NYS DOCCS Actually Allows in Inmate Packages and How to Send a Care Package to Prison in New York.
Sources
- NYS DOCCS Directive #4911, “Packages & Articles Sent to Facilities,” effective December 21, 2023 — doccs.ny.gov
- NYS DOCCS, “Mail & Packages” — doccs.ny.gov/mail-packages
- NYS DOCCS, “Family Guide: Allowable Items” — doccs.ny.gov/family-guide-allowable-items
Reflects Directive #4911 as of its December 21, 2023 revision. DOCCS revises directives periodically; confirm current requirements with the facility before ordering.