Should Preppers Stockpile MREs?
Kevin Felts 03.12.18
Meals Ready to Eat have a certain lore to them because the U.S. military uses them. However, since the military gets so much money from the government, spending $50-$75 a case is barely a drop in bucket.
When it comes to hikers, campers, and preppers, MREs may not be that great of a choice.
Considerations For MREs
- Can be expensive
- Heavy
- Bulky
- Take up a lot of room
- Convenient grab and go package
Depending on the time of year, and if there has been a major hurricane, a case of MREs may cost anywhere from $45-$75. If there has been a major hurricane, people will start selling MREs on Ebay. The surge in surplus causes the price to drop.
The type of meal also affects the price:
- Standard military MRE
- Sopakco individual meal
- Eversafe meal
- Humanitarian Daily Ration
Some meals, such as the standard military issue MRE bring a higher price. Meals such as the Sopakco individual meal are just the basics with main entree, crackers and toaster pastry. The Humanitarian Daily Ration is a vegetarian meal designed for humanitarian relief efforts.
MRE Life Span
When it comes to MRE lifespan someone is going to say, “I ate my grandpa’s MRE he brought back from Nam, and it was fine.”
When it comes to freeze dried meals and food stored in mylar bags, the MRE has a short lifespan. MREs are seriously affected by heat. One week above 90 degrees is supposed to take one month off the life expectancy.
Grab and Go
One of the main attractions to the MRE is its convenient grab and go packaging. Heading out on a hiking or camping trip and need a couple of meal? Grab some MREs and throw them in your pack.
However, as stated earlier, the MRE can take up a lot of room. Having three MREs in a medium ALICE is going to take up a lot of space.
If someone wanted to take the time the meals could be taken apart and the internals organized. Going on a day hike and want something to eat? Grab a main entree, heater, crackers, and head out.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to stockpiling food, there are much better options out there. Storing rice, beans and oatmeal in mylar bags would last a lot longer and would be cheaper than MREs. Freeze dried pouches would offer a lightweight option to the MRE.
However, when someone wants to grab and meal and head out, it is difficult to beat the MRE.
