Chicago jail inmates can now order pizza deliveries to their cells

Inmates in the Cook County Jail can now order pizza delivered directly to their cells. The administration is allowing pre-trial detainees to use their commissary allowance to purchase pizzas that are prepared by other inmates.

The pizzas cost between $5 and $7 and the selection of six choices like margherita and sausage.

The Recipe for Change program run by local restaurant owner, Chef Bruno Abate.

Abate teaches inmates how to make pizzas.  He says it is important for inmates to have skills that they can use when they are released.

The delivery program is in the mostly-medium security division.

“This isn’t coddling the detainees,” says sheriff spokeswoman Cara Smith who added that the sales will go towards funding the program.

The program has been in place since April 20 and as of Monday, 208 pies have been sold. Smith says a food truck serving food cooked by inmates is also in the works, although it’s only in the developmental stage.