Emergency Food

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scmoose

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With the last hurricane scare, the company I work for is getting together an Emergency Preparedness Box. We talked about buying a few cases of MRE's to keep here so we don't have to run out and buy food in case we get stuck on site, or have to travel to remote valve sites and get stuck. My thoughts were MRE's but can you get them by the case locally with current born on dates? I know plenty of people sell them but we want something that isn't already 5 years past its birthday.
 
Will you be able to heat (boil) water? If so freeze dried would be a better option thsn MREs. Other options include lots of shelf stable options, including beef jerky and other 'snack' items already packaged and sealed. Worse case you replace them once a year or something. Peanut butter is always a good option too. Many commercially canned items are good for several years, as long as the can isn't bulging they should be safe but may degrade in quality a bit. In an emergency situation, they'll still get the job done. I would also include freeze dried coffee (or the Folgers bag in a pack) and other drink mixes.
 
noway2 said:
Will you be able to heat (boil) water? If so freeze dried would be a better option thsn MREs. Other options include lots of shelf stable options, including beef jerky and other 'snack' items already packaged and sealed. Worse case you replace them once a year or something. Peanut butter is always a good option too. Many commercially canned items are good for several years, as long as the can isn't bulging they should be safe but may degrade in quality a bit. In an emergency situation, they'll still get the job done. I would also include freeze dried coffee (or the Folgers bag in a pack) and other drink mixes.
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When the small 1 and 2lb canned hams come in seasonally at Aldi, these are a great cheap source of protein (and sodium! lol) with a long shelf life. Better than SPAM or Vienna's by far.
Give me that and some ramen any time over an MRE that's going to constipate you.
 
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OMG I lived on MRE's one summer cause I was poor. This was in the 80's, I think they were Vietnam let overs. ugh. Peanut butter crackers were the only thing that tasted good. M&M's were made from something other than m&m's I'm prettty sure.
 
Trust me, I've had my fair share of them. It was an idea that by boss had, they all think the idea of MRE's are cool, they've never lived off of them.
 
noway2 said:
Will you be able to heat (boil) water? If so freeze dried would be a better option thsn MREs. Other options include lots of shelf stable options, including beef jerky and other 'snack' items already packaged and sealed. Worse case you replace them once a year or something. Peanut butter is always a good option too. Many commercially canned items are good for several years, as long as the can isn't bulging they should be safe but may degrade in quality a bit. In an emergency situation, they'll still get the job done. I would also include freeze dried coffee (or the Folgers bag in a pack) and other drink mixes.
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Water isn't a requirement; you can eat them cold.
 
scmoose said:
Trust me, I've had my fair share of them. It was an idea that by boss had, they all think the idea of MRE's are cool, they've never lived off of them.
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I would suggest buying one mountain house packet and one MRE and let them try each.
 
The MRE's I get issued have heaters, do the ones you can buy by the case not come with them?
 
scmoose said:
The MRE's I get issued have heaters, do the ones you can buy by the case not come with them?
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Some of the older generations do not have the heaters. I can't remember which gen the heaters started coming as part of the MREs.

I still have some. This many years out of the military, I would rather not eat them, but I could. I few years ago, no way.
 
Anyone here experienced with legacy foods? supposedly better portions and calories. I have never tried them
 
scmoose said:
The MRE's I get issued have heaters, do the ones you can buy by the case not come with them?
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They all come with heaters now. If you find any without, they are gonna fairly old.
 
I was working in the garage the other day and looked over and there was some MRE only 2 years past their test expiration date...tasted fine to me as a snack...
 
scmoose said:
With the last hurricane scare, the company I work for is getting together an Emergency Preparedness Box. We talked about buying a few cases of MRE's to keep here so we don't have to run out and buy food in case we get stuck on site, or have to travel to remote valve sites and get stuck. My thoughts were MRE's but can you get them by the case locally with current born on dates? I know plenty of people sell them but we want something that isn't already 5 years past its birthday.
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To answer your first question, yes fresh MRE's are available but not locally that I'm aware of. You can even buy them on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005O04SX...t=&hvlocphy=9009600&hvtargid=pla-315473106156

As others have said though, there are better options. Much better. If I was going to set up a disaster kit for work it would be similar to the one I have at the house. Water, a jet boil and Mountain House freeze dried pouches.

I also have MRE's but those are for long term use.
 
Yeah, Mountain House is the top of the heap as far as taste and packaging goes. It's also the most expensive. But, they use better ingredients, and us a FAR better production process than ALL the other freeze dried offerings. And after independent testing their "oxygen retained in package" blows ALL the others away by orders of magnitude.

Auguson Farms is a close second but they don't offer as much in individual pouches as they do in family size and cans.

All of it is "unhealthy". All of it. All the MREs and freeze dried. It's there to keep you alive and your body functioning.
 
Omeals on the other hand, are patently awesome in taste for emergency food that is not freeze dried.

Downsides, they are expensive.

And much like MREs (or any food really), if you keep them in a vehicle year round, you of course reduce the shelf life.

I rotate mine in my vehicle twice a year.

https://www.amazon.com/OMEALS-Chick...ie=UTF8&qid=1505411655&sr=1-8&keywords=omeals

We do not sell these, but I am fortunate enough to have bought several cases for myself. The whole family loves them.
 
Goofyfoot2001 said:
The heater make everything tastes shtier than it other wise would. "Would you like some chemical burn with your meat thing lump?"
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You are not supposed to eat the heater. :p
 
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thrillhill said:
Yeah, Mountain House is the top of the heap as far as taste and packaging goes. It's also the most expensive. But, they use better ingredients, and us a FAR better production process than ALL the other freeze dried offerings. And after independent testing their "oxygen retained in package" blows ALL the others away by orders of magnitude.

Auguson Farms is a close second but they don't offer as much in individual pouches as they do in family size and cans.

All of it is "unhealthy". All of it. All the MREs and freeze dried. It's there to keep you alive and your body functioning.
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I get a wicked good deal on MH pouches (unfortunately not on the cans). I try to stock up when I can on the heartier stuff like eggs/bacon or meat-dense meals that don't contain a bunch of starchy carbs. I also have enjoyed Backpacker's Pantry. I get a deal on them too.

I will prob pick up some #10 cans of cooked ground beef to add to the other meals.

I agree to the "unhealthy" aspect, although you can mitigate it somewhat by staying away from the meals with pasta, rice, gravy or anything enriched.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
 
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i agree with Ikarus1...try some. find out what you like.
ask your boss to "taste test" an MRE and one other option.
experiment. science. all that.
 
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