What You Can Send in a Thanksgiving Package to a New York State Prison
, by Jahmaxx Care Packages, 5 min reading time
A Thanksgiving package for someone in a New York State prison can include fully cooked turkey and ham, pies, stuffing and mashed-potato mixes, fresh vegetables, bread, cheese, coffee and tea, as long as every item is commercially packaged and sealed and the package ships from a vendor straight to the facility. Home-cooked food, opened items and anything in glass are refused.
Short answer: a Thanksgiving package for someone in a New York State prison can include fully cooked turkey and ham, pies and cobbler, stuffing and mashed-potato mixes, fresh vegetables, bread, cheese, coffee and tea, as long as every item is commercially packaged, the sealed items arrive in their original airtight packaging, and the package ships from a vendor straight to the facility. Home-cooked food, opened items and anything in glass are refused at the package room.
The rule behind the menu
Directive 4911 governs every package that enters a NYS DOCCS facility. For Thanksgiving the three rules that matter most are: food must come from a vendor and ship directly to the facility; food other than fresh fruit and vegetables must arrive in airtight, factory-sealed containers; and the month's total is capped at three food packages weighing 40 lb combined, counted when the package arrives. Our packaging and size-limit guide covers the container rules in detail. Everything below is sold on our site and packed to those rules.
The Thanksgiving plate, item by item
Turkey and ham
Fully cooked, factory-sealed turkey breast is the center of the holiday package. Our best seller is the 4 lb oven-browned roasted turkey breast ($28.99); it was the second most-ordered item in the catalog last November. Sliced deli turkey, honey ham, a 4 lb applewood-smoked ham and sliced roast beef are all fully cooked and sealed, and all arrive cold-packed. There is no whole raw bird — nothing in a package can need cooking, only heating.
Stuffing, potatoes and sides
Boxed stuffing mix (Stove Top turkey, chicken, cornbread and savory herb) and pouch mashed potatoes (Idahoan garlic, loaded, bacon, and Betty Crocker sweet potato) are shelf-stable, light, and sealed by the manufacturer, which makes them the easiest part of the box. Each weighs well under half a pound, so a handful of sides adds flavor without eating into the allowance.
Fresh vegetables
Fresh fruit and vegetables are the one category that does not have to be in a sealed container. Collard greens, green beans, broccoli, onions, garlic and sweet peppers all travel well and are allowed. Fresh produce is heavy relative to its price, so a 32 oz bag of collards costs 2 lb of the allowance; plan for it.
Pies, cobbler and dessert
Our pies come in sealed aluminum containers from the bakery, which is what the package room looks for. Patti LaBelle's sweet potato pie was the single most-ordered item in the catalog last November, and her peach cobbler was in the top ten; pumpkin, pecan, apple and caramel apple pies are all on the Thanksgiving menu, along with mini pies, cheesecakes and pound cakes. Each 8-inch pie weighs roughly 1.3 to 1.5 lb.
Bread and rolls
Potato bread, sweet Hawaiian bread, brioche buns and cornbread arrive in their original sealed bags. The seasonal pumpkin-spice swirl bread is back for the fall.
Cheese
Sealed blocks and sliced cheese are allowed and popular — the 32 oz New York extra-sharp cheddar block, Cracker Barrel variety packs and 8 oz chunks all qualify. Cheese is dense: a 2 lb block is 5% of the month's allowance.
Drinks
Instant coffee packets, ginger tea, condensed milk pouches and powdered drink mixes are fine. Nothing in glass, and nothing that contains alcohol.
What gets a Thanksgiving package refused
- Home-cooked or home-baked food. Grandma's pie cannot go in. Food has to be commercially packaged and shipped by a vendor.
- Opened or re-packed items. If a factory seal is broken, the item is refused. We never open or split items.
- Glass. No glass jars or bottles of any kind.
- Items over the size caps. Individual items have weight and size limits regardless of the 40 lb total; see the size-limit guide.
- Packages sent by family. Food mailed by a relative rather than a vendor is turned away at the gate, even if everything inside would have been allowed.
A sample 20 lb Thanksgiving package
This is close to what The Holiday Dinner Box contains, and it shows how the weight adds up:
- Oven-browned turkey breast, 4 lb — 4.0 lb
- Sliced roast beef sirloin, 2 lb — 2.0 lb
- Smoked brisket, 16 oz — 1.0 lb
- Three boxes of Stove Top stuffing — 1.1 lb
- Fresh collard greens, 32 oz — 2.0 lb
- Four cornbreads — 1.5 lb
- New York cheddar block, 32 oz — 2.0 lb
- Sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie and peach cobbler — 4.6 lb
- Potato bread — 1.4 lb
- Sazón and instant coffee — 1.0 lb
That comes to roughly 20.6 lb, about half the monthly allowance, which leaves room for a second package of snacks or fresh fruit the same month. Every box in our Boxes collection lists its weight and its share of the 40 lb the same way.
Substitutions during the holidays
Fresh and refrigerated items sell through quickly in November. If something you ordered is unavailable on packing day we contact you first and offer a comparable item at equal or greater value, and you are never charged the difference. If we cannot reach you before the package has to ship, we substitute so it still makes its delivery window. The full terms are in our Substitution Policy.
Deadlines
Thanksgiving packages ship the week of November 16; order by Sunday, November 15 to guarantee that week. Our 2026 holiday deadlines guide has the full calendar through New Year's. To have us build the package with you, message the list and your loved one's name, DIN and facility to WhatsApp at +1 929-394-4215, or call 718-576-3094.