MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) Sources

I'm putting together my earthquake kit here in Seattle. Does anyone know of a reliable and fairly priced source for MRE's? I'd like to be able to buy just the entrees I want, in quantity, instead of getting a case with mostly hamsteaks or tetrazzini! I saw Long Life Food allows this, so if anyone has ordered from them and has feedback, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

wouldt can goods be cheaper?like can stew can tuna maybe peanut butter?

I have ordered from them. My first order of mixed entrees
had one entree I felt was burnt,I contacted them about it and was not ignored. I have ordered twice since then and would order from them in the future. I hope that helps
I have the web page in my favorites. If someone has a better source let me know.
Topper /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I haven't ordered from them, but there is a place right in Seattle that looks cheaper: Emergency Preparedness with only a small penalty in quantity. If they honor the net prices at the store and no sales tax on food, that looks good. I have bought from Emergency Essentials in Utah and they were fine. They also look a little cheaper. The prices went up so much near 2000 that I scaled back on MREs and got canned goods, which can be cheaper. Full MRE cases are all commonly available at places like US Cavalry and Major Surplus, but they tend to be expensive and I haven't bought from them. I do recommend always eating down stock and replacing, as the storage life can sneak up on you. Same with water.

Louie, I just placed orders at both sites you posted we shall see how well they do. I have bought from Major Surplus
however the post was about Long Life Food so I stuck with that in my first responce. I will let yall know when I get the goods. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Raggie, yes Canned goods are great they are good for at least 2+ years without any problem at all most will go much longer than that(7) you need to watch for dents in the cans when you buy them, then check for swelling of the can before use.
Topper /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Have you tried camping meals at REI?

The camping meals I've looked at, including REI's, have generally been even pricier than the MRE's.

[ QUOTE ]
Double_A said:
Have you tried camping meals at REI?

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the suggestion Double_A. The camping meals at REI are very good. . . but very expensive, and most require water and a flame heat source to reconstitute them in a reasonable amount of time. Long Life Foods, and probably most others, guarantee at least 5 years of shelf life at 70 degrees F, longer than some canned goods. Canned goods are also bulkier and much heavier and so are not as well suited to an evacuation due to volcanic action, which is a distinct possibility here in the Seattle area. That's not to say that canned goods are not a part of my emergency supplies. . . they are well suited to consumption and rotation of stock, so I have a fresh supply of soup (Ready to eat), tuna, cheese (as in Whiz), and other familiar goodies.
My plan was to have a bit more than I needed, and every once in awhile, consume some of them to ensure freshness, rotate stock, and have some fun!

Topper. . . thanks for the Seattle link, I didn't even know about them, so I'll check it out. And thanks for the feedback on Long Life. . . it's great to know.

louie. . . I'll look forward to your feedback on your current orders. Feel free to PM me if you want. . .

And everyone so far. . . thanks for the suggestions and responses.

I'm sure I was told my a friend in the British Army that the ration packs they get supplied are only for about a fortnight before they have to go on a different type of ration that they don't carry with them or something. Dunno how important this is but it may be worth checking out how long people can live off rations.

I'd like to know too so please post here what you find out.

Thanks

I bought MRE from CheaperThanDirt a few years ago.

[ QUOTE ]
Size15s said:
I'm sure I was told my a friend in the British Army that the ration packs they get supplied are only for about a fortnight before they have to go on a different type of ration that they don't carry with them or something. Dunno how important this is but it may be worth checking out how long people can live off rations.

I'd like to know too so please post here what you find out.

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that the reason for this is that the British Army ration packs are big. They come (or did a few years ago when I trained with the 3rd Royal Wels Fusiliers) in boxes that contain a heater, compressed fuel, and the meals themselves. The box contains enough food for 24 hours. Mabye a little smaller than 3 MRE's though. Eitehr way, it's hard to carry enough MRE's, or the British packs to last more than a couple days. I'm thinking that the rations that they switch to are similar to our "T" rats (large tins heated in water, they come in a case with everything to feed 18 people). Or they will have their field kitchens set up by then. I've lived off MRE's for a few days at a time, and the UK rations for I think it was 3. No real problem. I knew people who lived off MRE's for weeks at a time in Desert Storm. Thankfully I haven't had to go through that. The biggest effece of eating so many of them will be constipation. The authentic US MRE's are fortified with most vitamins nad minerals. Everything is fortified with something. The peanut butter, the crackers, everything.

i imagine they do taste a lot better then sea ratons did? my dad told me about them he said they was awefull

Drinkable water will be more important than food. Get a small water purifier and forget about storing tons of bottles.

You really only need enough food/etc for about a week MAX. By that time the EMA will have responded along with others.

Thanks, that would make sense... However, I was unsure whether people were intended to stash a supply of rations to last them for weeks rather than days. I just wanted to make sure that there weren't issues with actually having to live off for extended periods.

Al

Freeze dried foods were the new thing for camping 30 years ago and saved weight while not tasting too horiible. They are better now, but still expensive. You pay for the light weight and the variety of flavors.

MRE's still come in a limited variety of choices, but for what they are, the taste is not bad. Remember, they are not meant to replace home cooking. They are designed as rations for carrying and using where conventional meals aren't possible. Since they are rations, they are nutrionally geared toward keeping a soldier in fighting condition for the least amount of weight, time, and effort. The taste is not as important as is getting the benefit of consuming vitamins and calories. Therefore, of course they are "enhanced." And while some folks would like to see Martha get shot at, a gourmet meal during a patrol probably won't be coming along anytime too soon. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/xyxgun.gif

As emergency food goes, either works. Nothing so far has been able to beat fresh food. If you want more flavor, cook "real food" or learn how to spice either of them up. They will never replace good home cooked meals because they are not meant to do so. But they do a fine job in an emergency. But sauces and spices make 'em work much better.

Search surplus gear sites, camping sites, and bulk food sites for prices. To keep everyone happy, look for variety, but remember, they are meant to keep you alive first and to be happy second.

You don't want to eat MREs exclusively. If you do, you'll need a lot of toilet paper. And you'll need it frequently. They'll keep you regular. I find a mix of MRE, freeze dried, and canned (some 'canned' is boxed now - shelf stable at the supermarket) works best. And a good trail mix can substitute for cooking - MREs just aren't very good cold (or hot, IMNSHO). I really can't eat MREs any more since my doctor has me on a low sodium diet.

You've got to carry the weight of the water whether your food is freeze dried or not. In other words, you might be carrying a cup of water in a can of stew or MRE, or you carry it seperately from a freeze dried meal which allows you to use it for something else (wash hands, clean wounds) if necessary. And all of the salt in a can or MRE means that you need even more water.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I ordered from Long Life Foods. . . had a glitch with the order web page when it dropped my "address 2" field (the one that contains my apartment number!). I emailed Long Life and got 2 responses back quickly to make sure the order was processed properly. Impressive (for me, at least). Then, lo and behold, the goods arrived today, after 5 business days. Next. . . how do they TASTE???
I'll post on that when I get up enough courage to eat one!

I've always wanted to try MRE's but don't want to order a large quantity, does anyone have a large enough supply so as they can send me one? I will pay for the MRE + Shipping via paypal. PM Me!

a co-worker (Ranger) told me they used to call them Meals Ready to Excrete

Hey I've got a couple cases, not bad. I opened up the first case and heated up some Chicken with Rice. My ex-wife who saw me eating it said what's that? After taking and eating the rest of it, she said buy another case!