As preppers, a varied assortment of foodstuffs is a wise idea. Commercially canned goods, home canned goods, dehydrated foods and even freeze dried packages are all great ideas. So, how do MREs fit into a food plan? Do they actually fit at all?
MREs have come a long way since the days of the old C rations. They now offer more meal choices, and are much more appetizing than they used to be. Now, commercially available MREs are being looked at by more and more preppers every day. There are advantages and disadvantages, just like any other food storage option.
Advantages:
MREs that are commercially available are complete meals including everything you need. Even plastic utensils, wet naps, and a heater pack are included. Heck, even the instant coffee isn’t that bad at all! I’ve personally tried a few of them and they were actually edible, dare I say some even down right tasty.
The heater pack is convenient. No need to set up a field stove or give away your presence with a smoking fire. Just add a bit of water to the heater pack and a few minutes later you have a piping hot meal.
I found that there was more in an MRE than I could actually eat in one sitting. Of course, that might be a different story after bugging out on foot with a pack all day. If not, saving a treat or two in a pocket isn’t a bad idea.
Disadvantages:
MREs have a shelf life of only 5 years. I’ve looked at a couple after that time frame and found them to still be edible, but the flameless heaters no longer worked at all. Cold MREs aren’t as tasty as hot ones.
The best before date comes in the form of a nearly indecypherable code. It is a pain in the backside to have to look up reference materials every time you want to check an expiry date.
MREs are bulky and heavier than some popular freeze dried meals. Although they do not require water to rehydrate, many consider this to be an issue.
In the end, unless you can regularly go through a case of them in a year for regular activities, storing large amounts of MREs takes up a lot of space for the dollar amount invested and it can get expensive to replace expired inventory.
My personal opinion is to not include them as a long term food storage option, but you may want to have a few on hand. A case of 12 could supply you with meals for your bug out bags, or you may want them for hunting or backwoods hiking.
