Archive for the 'MRE star' Category

Sep 05 2008

MRE Case Price Comparison - September 2008 Update

Published by Kevin

Back in January I did a price comparison of cases of MRE. Below I have updated that comparison with today’s pricing. I used a Tampa Bay, FL zip code for 3 distributors that charged shipping costs depending on zip codes.

MRE Price Comparison

MRE Distributor MRE Brand Case Cost Shipping Total
Camping Survival Sopakco Sure-Pak $74.95 $11.90 $86.85
Nitro-Pak MRE Star $69.99 $12.00 $81.99
The ReadyStore Sopakco Sure-Pak $82.95 $7.95 $90.90
MRE Foods Sopakco Sure-Pak $89.00 $0.00 $89.00
MRE Depot MRE Star $69.95 $19.13 $89.08
The Epicenter MRE Star $72.00 $18.65 $84.03
Meyers Custom Supply Sopakco Sure-Pak $78.00 $0.00 $78.00
Long Life Food Depot Unknown $82.00 $0.00 $82.00
Are You Prepared Sopakco Sure-Pak $84.95 $13.95 $98.90

MRE is available now to order at these associated distributors;

One response so far

Published under MRE, MRE star, The ReadyStore, nitro-pak, sopakco

May 27 2008

Survival Food - Short and Long Term Planning

Published by Kevin

NOTE: Shipping lead times on Mountain House #10 cans of freeze dried have come down to just 2 to 4 weeks from previous 3 -7 weeks.

orders with #10 canned foods or units are taking 2 to 4 weeks to ship.

Freeze Dried Food CasesMRE Star Case of MRE

No one preparedness strategy will support all your food needs in a disaster.

While there are huge advantages freeze dried food gives as the survival food of choice, it is not the best in all situations. It is good planning to have a short term strategy and a long term strategy to be best prepared.

Below is a look at food preparedness strategies, starting with the long term.

Long Term Survival Food Strategy

Long term here refers to having a food supply that will last from 2 weeks to 3 months or more. Freeze dried food is best for these situations as it can be easily prepared but still have good taste close to the original food. It is important to not add stress to an already stressful situation with a poor tasting food supply.

Freeze dried food avoids this problem as your family can continue eating a healthy diet that has good taste as close to fresh as possible among all the other food options.

You may still want to prepare a herb or sprout garden kit to add a live food source to your reserve. Astronauts who have eaten freeze dried foods for extended periods have commented on how they relished live fresh food upon their return.

It will be important after a disaster to have as much time as possible available each day for other important activities. You can maximize your available time by not spending a lot of it preparing and cooking food.

Mountain House freeze dried food in #10 cans (which can store up to 25 years) have 8 to 10 servings each and will last up to 2 weeks once opened. #10 cans are an ideal strategy for the long term.

You will need a large enough space to store the light weight #10 cans of freeze dried food and also water containers. A freeze dried food supply for 3 months for a family of four can store in a space 3′ by 3′, by 4′ high. You will easily be able to transport this if need be in a van or pickup truck from a storage location to a place you will reside during a disaster. But if you want to be able to be mobile with this type of food supply you will need some type of RV.

Daily calorie intake for different freeze dried food packages varies. Planning 1500 calories a day would be the bare minimum for an adult, even for someone less active. 2100 to 2400 calories is recommended. If you want to plan for support of very active adults you may want to add extra meals to bring the daily total to 2900 calories per day. Small children 5 -9 years old will require about 700 - 800 calories per day.

A water supply of 3 months for a family of four would require is about 440 gallons or eight 55 gallon drums. This will provide a gallon of water each per day for 110 days. You can get food grade storage drums that will safely store water for 5 years. You may have plans for alternative supply of water in a long term situation and not require all eight of the drums.

Freeze Dried Food Reserves

55 gallon water container, 4 per package
Family Water Storage Package #2 (55 gal. size)<B> S&H Included

Short Term Survival Food Strategy

For initial disaster preparedness food supply, MRE (meals ready to eat) are a better choice. They do not require water to hydrate, they are truly ready. They can be heated in 10 minutes with “flameless ration heaters” a pouch that will heat up if you add a little water to it.

MRE’s are great if you want to spend as little time preparing and eating food as possible. This will especially be the case shortly after a disaster where you may need to travel or expend a lot of effort to recover get set up and be prepared for the long term.

One draw back of MREs is that many people are critical of the taste and some report difficulty digesting the food. You should try MRE with your family to make sure no one has a strong dislike for it. It will also be helpful for them to know what to expect in terms of food before a disaster.

The other drawback for MRE is that it is twice as expensive as freeze dried food per meal.

For these reasons I recommend planning MRE supply for a maximum of 3 weeks. After that you should be ready to use your long term freeze dried food supply regularly for you food needs. Since MRE lasts only 5-7 years you may want to safely plan to re-stock it ever 4 years when there is an election or when there is an Olympics to help you remember. You want to make sure at this time that the MRE agrees with everyone.

Keeping bottled water cases stocked up will help be prepared for the short term, however for longer than 2 weeks you really need to consider storage drums or some other alternative source to be prepared.

Finally it would be a good idea to keep a 72 hour kit with food bars or MRE in your car(s) so that you and your family will have supplies to support getting back together if you are separated when disaster strikes.

MRE (meals ready to eat) Food Reserves

72 hour survival kit
*Survival Kit, Executive 72 hr.<br><i>w/ Solar Radio Upgrade

2 responses so far

Published under 72 Hour Kit, Emergency Food, Emergency Preparedness Advice, FRH flamless heaters for MRE, Freeze Dried Food, MRE, MRE star, Mountain House, Survival Food, Survival Food Preparedness in the News, Survival Food Reserves, Survival Kit, food shortage, meals ready to eat, water storage

Mar 04 2008

MRE Brand Feature - MRE Star

Published by Kevin

I thought it would be a good time review some MRE Brands.

The first Brand I will review is MRE Star.

Located in Hollywood, Florida MRE Star’s maker is International Meals Supply has been in the food industry for over 30 years.

All of their MREs are US made and their plants are USDA/FSIS, as well as FDA approved. They are a certified supplier of emergency rations for the DoD/DLA, Defense Supply Center Philadelphia.

They use fully automated equipment to produce a wide variety meal recipes. They operate 24/7 in emergency situations.

Their “M-018 12-MRE Full Case” has 12 complete MRE meals with an entree, side dish and more. There are is six different MRE entree varieties, 2 of each in each case. The six varieties are;

  1. Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles
  2. Beef Stew with Potatoes and Vegetables
  3. BBQ Chicken with Black Beans and Potatoes
  4. Chicken Noodle Stew with Vegetables
  5. Cheese Tortellini with Marinara Sauce
  6. Vegetarian Chili with Beans

In addition to the Entree, each MRE meal comes with;

  • 4.5 oz Side Dish (Apple sauce or fruit cocktail)
  • 2 oz Raisins & Mix Nuts
  • 2 oz Oatmeal Cookie
  • Drink Mix (orange flavor)
  • Accessory Pack (spoon, coffee, sugar, creamer, salt, pepper, napkin, moist towel
  • Optional: 12 flameless heaters individually packed

According to MRE Star’s website, “Each MRE has an average of 1,100-1,300 calories, which replicates the calorie count of a complete meal. There is no need to add water to an MRE.”

You can purchase MRE Star 12 meal MRE cases at Nitro-Pak. You can also get bulk order discounts there.

MRE Star M-018 12-MRE Full Case

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Published under MRE, MRE Brands, MRE star

Feb 12 2008

NEW Improved MRE’s for 2008 from Nitro Pak:

Published by Kevin

NEW Improved MRE’s for 2008:

The BEST just got better! The MRE business has been tough for some time with suppliers torn from one disaster to the next and with the war. Supplies have been short and selection has been terrible… until now. We have just contracted with a major MRE supplier to provide our customers with all FRESH component MRE’s and meals (not old scraped together surplus or 2 to 3 year old stock). Unlike some dealers who provide just 2 to 4 different entree choices, we provide SIX (6) DIFFERENT Premium meal entrees x 2! In Addition, everyone of our meals includes a MRE side dish! That’s an ADDED SAVINGS of up to $12 per case you would have to pay if you…….

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Published under Emergency Food, MRE, MRE star, meals ready to eat

Jan 23 2008

Price Check on MRE - 12 Meal MRE Cases

Published by Kevin

Pricing comparison of MRE cases of 12 meals

from various online retailers according to their websites as of Jan 24, 2008; Update Feb 26th - added Areyouprepared.com
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Nitro-Pak


Brand: MRE Star - 1 Case (12 Meals) of Full Meal Military Style MRE’s with Heaters

New, Fresh, MRE with a minimum shelf life of 5 years, and up to 130 months (10 + years, according to the manufactures specifications) if stored at 60 degrees F or lower

  • Main Entree Dish, i.e., Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles, Beef Stew with Potatoes and Vegetables,
    BBQ Chicken with Black Beans and Potatoes, Chicken Noodle Stew with Garden Vegetables,
    Cheese Tortellini with Marinara Sauce, Vegetarian Chili with Beans (or simular entrees).
  • Military Side Dish, i.e. Apple Sauce or Fruit Cocktail
  • Dessert, Military Oatmeal Cookie Bar
  • Snack, Military Nut Raisin Mix
  • Drink Mix, Military Flavored Powdered Mix
  • Accessory Packet Includes: matches, military HD plastic spoon, napkin,
    wet wipe towelette, salt & pepper, coffee, creamer and sugar

Price $59.99

Heaters $10.50 (not included)

Shipping $12.00 (UPS ground to southern California)

Total $ 82.49

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Meyers Custom Supply

Brand: SOPAKCO’s SURE-PAK 12 tm WITH Flameless Ration Heaters
12 mains, 12 sides, 12 dessert packs, 12 crackers, 12 spreads, 12 beverages, 12 coffees

Price $69.00

Heaters $0.00 (included)

Shipping $19.18 (UPS ground to southern California)

Total $88.18

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Areyouprepared.com

Brand: SOPAKCO’s SURE-PAK 12 tm WITH Flameless Ration Heaters
12 mains, 12 sides, 12 dessert packs, 12 crackers, 12 spreads, 12 beverages, 12 coffees

Price $84.95

Heaters $0.00 (included)

Shipping $ 13.95 (Flat Ground Rate)

Total $ 98.80

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TheEpicenter.com

Sopakco SURE-PAK 12 MRE Full Case of 12, “MENU - B”, WITH factory packed heaters

Price $72.00

Heaters $0.00 (included)

Shipping $ 13.74 (UPS ground to southern California)

Total $85.74

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MREdepot.com


Brand: MRE Star - 1 Case (12 Meals) of Full Meal Military Style MRE’s with Heaters

Price $72.00

Heaters $0.00 (included)

Shipping $9.17 (UPS ground to southern California)

Total $81.17


Each Meal has Main Entree PLUS;

- 4.5 oz Side Dish (Apple sauce or fruit cocktail)
- 2 oz Raisins & Mix Nuts
- 2 oz Oatmeal Cookie
- Drink Mix (orange flavor)
- Accessory Pack (spoon, coffee, sugar, creamer, salt, pepper, napkin, moist towel
- Flameless Ration Heater

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MRE Foods.com

Brand: aPack™ case of 12 self heating MREs

Each case includes the following meals:
2 Beef Stew (1310 calories/meal)
2 Chicken Noodle (1180 calories/meal)
2 Chicken with Black Beans & Rice (1190 calories/meal)
2 Chicken Tetrazzini (1140 calories/meal)
2 Pasta with Vegetables (1150 calories/meal)
2 Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (1310 calories/meal)

Each meal contains an MRE Entrée, Osmotic Raisin Pack, 2 of 3 (Cookie Pack, Fig Bar, and/or Toaster Pastry), Cracker, Peanut Butter or Cheese Spread, Sqwincher Beverage Base, Black Pepper, Wet Nap, Spoon, and Flameless Ration Heater.

Price $72.95

Heaters $0.00 (included)

Shipping $0.00 (*Free shipping on orders shipped to locations within the Continental US)

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Long Life Food Depot

Brand: unknown
1. Entree
2. Side Dish
3. Bakery Item
(Crackers or Bread)
4. Spread
(Jelly, Peanut Butter or Cheese Spread)
5. Dessert
(Cookies, Energy Bar, Cake or Fruit)
6. Beverage Base
7. Accessory Packet
(Coffee, Creamer, Sugar, Salt,
Gum, Matches, Wet Nap, Long Handle Spoon)
8. MRE Heater Pouch

Price $82.00

Heaters $0.00 (included)

Shipping $0.00 (UPS ground to southern California, appears to be free)

No responses yet

Published under MRE, MRE star

Jan 21 2008

Emergency Food Options

Published by Kevin

Emergency Food - What are the options?

Emergency Food Option 1) Buy the can goods, grains, and bottled water as many government agencies recommend. Store in your house or apartment.

- Good, can be done in 2 hours or less

- Bad, most will forget or not store it properly so it will be useless when it is needed

- Bad, Goods are heavy, space is often limited people will not be able to store much

- Bad, grains need a lot of water to cook to eat and water may be unavailable or scarce.

- Bad, you will need to spend a lot of time preparing food

- Bad, can goods can destroy appetites after awhile

Emergency Food Option 2) Same as 1 except be more careful in storing and ‘cycle’ inventory of goods buying new food so that food store is always edible.

- Good, food will not be bad when you need it
- Bad, most people do not have the time, space, or inclination to do this

- Bad, grains need a lot of water to cook to eat and water may be unavailable or scarce.

- Bad, you will need to spend a lot of time preparing food
-Bad, can goods can destroy appetites after awhile

Emergency Food Option 3) Buy MRE’s (military style - Meals Ready to Eat)

- Good, easy to store and lasts upto 5-7 years in a cool dry place.

- Good, fastest preparation time possible and can be heated fast with “MRE heaters”

- Good, can be ordered online in minutes, delivered to your house. You will only have to spend less than 30 minutes storing it.

- Bad, relatively expensive per meal and for extended reserve of 6 weeks, 3 months, or a year a lot space required to store.

- Bad, lasts only 5-7 years so you will need to buy a replacement reserve

- Bad, tastes like can food which can destroy appetites after awhile

Emergency Food Option 4) Buy Freeze Dried Food

- Good, easy to store and lasts up to 30 years.

- Good, fast simple preparation - just add water. But only water that is needed to hydrate the food, much less than cooking.

- Good, once hydrated, freeze dried food taste is very close to original food taste.

- Good, light weight easy to store large qty (Mountain house #10 cans) of food for reserves of 6 weeks, 3 months, or a year. A 6 week food reserve can fit under a bed!

- Good, can be ordered online in minutes, delivered to your house. You will only have to spend less than 30 minutes storing it.

No responses yet

Published under Emergency Food, Emergency Preparedness Advice, Freeze Dried Food, MRE, MRE star, Mountain House, Survival Food, meals ready to eat