Questions regarding MREs

[jkeeley1]

I currently live in an apartment, so I am planning on my SHTF food source being MRE centered, but I have a few questions.

1. From what I've seen MREs have about a 5 year shelf life, is this true? can it be extended w/ refridgeration? are MRE packs available online usually in their early years or will I be buying something good for only a short time?

2. How much room would 1 month of MREs for 2-3 people take up? (once again I live in an apartment)

3. Where is the least expensive/best place to get MREs?

4. Is there a particular make/brand/country that is recommended (and ones to avoid)?

Thanks.

 

[doobie]

Life is based on temperature. The colder it is...the longer it'll last... I have some I've had in storage for about 4 years... I should start eating them and replacing them.

Full meals might take up a bit of space, my guess is around 2"x4"x8".

theepicenter.com/ is where I have bought them in the past. I picked up their random box of 72 entrees.... good stuff and was really cheap, but don't be a picky eater.

 

[Plural of Mongoose]

I broke open an MRE a while back, out of a box that is 10 years old.
I still have some stored from Y2K.
The apple sauce was darker than usual and the little pack of chewing gum had gone soft but all in all it was OK .
Didnt kill me at any rate.
I keep them in my basement where the temp is fairly constant. 55-70 degrees.
I have both the military and civilian styles stored.
Some of the civilian style entre's come in a plastic microwave type tray that will not fit in a military type MRE heater.

This site has some good MRE info including how to decipher the menu designations and how to tell how old they are.
http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/buying-mres.html

 

[Andy in NH]

Like others people have posted, I have had MREs stored in the cellar for more than five years and they are still good to go. I have had a several stored under the seat of my truck for a couple of years (through NC summers and NH winters) with no outside signs trouble.

A new case of MREs (12 meals) is 17" x 10" x 9". The older cases (12 meals)are 19" x 13" x 5.5".

Depending on the SHTF situation and your physical exertion, a case of MREs can last one person almost two weeks. Maybe longer?

If you were to go to ground in your apartment, I wouldn't suggest eating three MREs a day. Each meal can contain up to 1200 calories. At the most I'd eat two. Even if I was on the move. A main meal w/ side dish for B-fast, packets of crackers / peanut butter / cheese (from both meals) for lunch, and a main meal w/ side dish again for dinner.




.

 

[Jamie]

Mountain House also has pre-packaged freeze dried meals that last a long time. IMHO they tase a lot better, and are lighter in weight if you end up needing to travel with them.

 

[Admin]

You can always field strip the individual packs. Remove all the card board, utensils, and the large plastic bag they are wrapped in. Sort the individual pieces of the meals and pack them in sealed non-see through plastic containers. That would save a lot of room. They waste a LOT of space packaging those things.

Like Andy said you really only need two per day. Your stomach will hurt at first because there isn't much too them but your body will take in enough to keep you healthy. Kill some game animals if you want to fill your belly.

 

[wolf223]

.


i'll trade ya chicken n rice for your beef stew?

 

[ochmude]

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i'll trade ya chicken n rice for your beef stew?

Hell no!!! Chicken and Rice rocks. For the OP though, I can pretty much concur with everyone else. You can actually get by quite comfortably on just 1 MRE per day. Snack on it throughout the day and you won't go hungry. Obviously if you're burning lots of calories doing labor intensive work (i.e. bugging out from the zombie invasion) you'll need to eat more. If you're just sitting tight in your home waiting for something to blow over and want to conserve your supplies, 1 a day would be plenty.

 

[FPrice]

i'll trade ya chicken n rice for your beef stew?

How about some ham and lima beans?

(If you remember those, you are ....mature! )

 

[Individualist]

Mtn House & Saratog Farms

I recommend Mountain House for meals and Saratoga Farms for fruits and veggies. Buy in #10 cans which have a 25-30 yr shelf life and provide about 15-20 meals each.


Here is a great source. http://www.thereadystore.com/ Free shipping over $100. Also good source on 5 gal water cans.

My quick estimate is 4 cans = 1 month per person primary food source or 3 months per person supplemental.

I prefer to get the individual items rather than the pre-bundled which have stuff I don't want.

- Breakfast: eggs w/ham, granola
- Fruit: mixed berries, bananas...
- Veggies: Broccoli, green beans...
- Entrees: various pasta w/meats, rice w/meat... anything protein & carbs
- Can also get various meets for added protein or ping some squirrels

 

[doobie]

Haha, I think we need an MRE trading post!

 

[wolf223]

Haha, I think we need an MRE trading post!

every time i see them "on the outside" i chuckle....


i'm sure those who've had to live on MREs for longer than a week can relate.


-plus, i like being "regular"..... not crapping for 4+ days makes me cranky!

 

[Bob P]

My dad's a WWII vet and he talks about the K rations with the 'cheese bar' and the 'prune bar' that came with instructions to eat the prune bar after eathing the cheese bar - to make sure the cheese bar came out again

 

[wolf223]

it's the cheese. serioulsy.

i always was told it was the gum.


i will rat-f*** the hell out of those crackers and peanut butter though....




and if you eat a match, the mosquittoes will leave you alone. -thats how i started smoking too...

 

[ncfishman]

i got some cases for sale if your interested. PM me

 

[biff44]

You guys DO know that there are 2 types of MRE's. The old type lasted just about forever--they were sterilized a good long time. Then the government stepped in and told the manufacturers to us a shorter sterilization process so that they would not last as long. I think they did this so some yahoos in the Dakota hills could not stock up and disapear from the ATF control for a decade!

The jist is, if you had some 10 year old MRE's that were fine to eat, good! I do not think MRE's from a new run you purchase today will last that long though.

 

[the jeff]

Don’t eat the omelet MRE they are horrible.

 

[andrew]

Remember that a secondary goals for MREs is latrine control. They will plug you the hell up. If you eat a lot of them, fer heaven's sake, get a fiber supplement!

 

[doobie]

I have found how to make MREs bearable! I used 20 drops of Melinda's XXXTra Hot Sauce on the meat loaf, YUM! Couldn't taste anything beyond the burning...