Decade-old picture of Kansas jail food falsely linked to Fulton County Jail | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read

The claim: Image shows meal served at Fulton County Jail

A Sept. 21 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows former President Donald Trump's mugshot beside a picture of a meager food tray.

"This is Fulton County's prison food," reads the text beneath the photos. "Bon appétite Trump!"

The post garnered more than 80 shares in five days. A similar post shared by the liberal group Occupy Democrats garnered more than 1,000 shares in six days before it was deleted. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: False

The picture shows a meal at Shawnee County Jail in Kansas in 2011, not Fulton County Jail.

Photo shows meal at Kansas jail, not Fulton County

Trump was arrested on Aug. 24 at Fulton County Jail in Georgia on charges that he attempted to steal the 2020 presidential election in the state. He became the first president to have his mugshot taken.

But while Trump's mugshot was taken at Fulton County Jail, the image of the meal shared on Facebook was not.

Fact check: More fake mugshots of Donald Trump shared online following his Georgia arrest

The photo shows a meal at Shawnee County Jail in Kansas in 2011, according to a Topeka Capital-Journal article. The meal, which included barbeque meat, a roll, a garden salad and a cookie, cost the jail about $1.64 per inmate.

Natalie Ammons, a Fulton County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, told USA TODAY in an email that the photo wasn't taken at Fulton County Jail.

She said the average meal at the jail costs about $1.74 and includes three ounces of meat, four ounces of vegetables, eight ounces of starch and eight ounces of casseroles. The meals are also served with bread, dessert and a beverage, according to Ammons.

Though Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee hasn't yet set a trial date for Trump, he set deadlines of Oct. 6 for prosecutors to share evidence with Trump's defense lawyers and Dec. 1 for filing arguments in the case.

USA TODAY reached out to social media users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Image shows food at Kansas jail, not Fulton County Jail | Fact check