How to Order and Use Hot Cart Meals at Marion County ADC (schedule, limits, and refunds)

At Marion County Adult Detention Center (ADC), "Hot Cart" is a paid food option that works like commissary. Your loved one orders through the commissary process, and payment comes from their commissary funds, not regular meal service. Commissary orders happen once per week unless someone is on restriction status, so Hot Cart is usually something they plan around their weekly order day.

Hot Cart follows a schedule organized by housing area (floors/units), so the delivery day depends on where your loved one is housed. The most reliable way to track it is the current schedule posted in the unit or shared during ordering. That's what staff and the cart runner follow on delivery day.

Hot Cart orders have spending limits. Your loved one must stay within the limit shown for that ordering period. If you're trying to budget, have them check the current order form or posted rules in the unit before placing an order. That's where the limit they'll be held to is spelled out.

The Hot Cart menu changes based on what the facility offers, but the key point is this: Hot Cart is treated as "eat now" food service, not extra food to store. When ordering, your loved one should think about what they can finish that same day before bunk-in, not what they want to save for later.

Marion ADC is strict about this: Hot Cart items must be eaten at meal service time and cannot be saved for later. The handbook spells it out as "must be eaten by bunk-in." If Hot Cart food piles up, it can be treated as contraband and destroyed. The safest approach? Order only what they can realistically eat that day.

This "eat it by bunk-in" rule matters because bunk-in happens every night, and it can also happen during the day for counts or other reasons. When bunk-in is called, your loved one must be back at their assigned cell or sitting on their assigned bunk. With those time windows, Hot Cart works best when they eat it right away. Holding onto food past bunk-in (or letting it accumulate) puts them at risk of losing it.

On delivery, your loved one's signature matters. It serves as acknowledgment that the Hot Cart order was received in full. Once they sign, it becomes much harder to argue that items were missing or that the order should be credited back.

1. Check the order at delivery - This is the moment to decide whether it’s acceptable, because the next step has to happen right then.
2. Refuse the entire order if there’s a problem - To be considered for a possible refund, the Hot Cart order must be refused in its entirety upon delivery.
3. Do not accept part and reject part - If they take any of it, it is no longer a full refusal, and that can keep it from being considered for a possible refund.