Survival Food - Freeze Dried & MRE

Buying a survival food reserve bulk package can save cost if you make the right choice.

But most of that savings can be wasted if you do not get the right balance of food groups in the reserve and you have to buy more to balance it.

Nito-pak’s reserves have a good proportion of vegetables, grains, and meat, spread out over complete breakfast lunch and dinner choices. It is important that you maintain routines of your lifestyle in a disaster situation. Having regular meals can bring a lot of calm to tense situations.

Nitro-Pak has one of the best selections of survival food reserve packages for time ranges and purposes (home or office);

		***Ultimate Family Preparedness PakTM
		**Mtn. House Ultimate-Pak Food Reserve Year Supply
		**Platinum Food Reserve 4 People for 3 Mo.
		**Six Month “Gold Food Reserve”
		-Mountain House Year’s Supply - 18 Main Course Entrees
		-Mountain House Year’s Supply Entrees #2 NEW
		-Mountain House Year’s Supply Vegetable-Pak
		-Year’s Supply Food Unit, Platinum Reserve

		Group Emergency Food Reserve #1 (10 Person)
		Group Emergency Food Reserve #2 (20 Person)
		Group Emergency Food Reserve #3 (50 Person)

**”Easy Meal Security-Pak™” Food Reserve

Utah State University has a classic food storage  advice document on it’s website.

The document titled “Food Storage in the Home” set the standard for food storage advice for years to come. Published by  Charlotte P. Brennand, PhD, and Deloy G. Hendricks, PhD of the Department of Nutrition & Food Sciences, “Food Storage in the Home”  focuses on “Reducing Waste and Maintaining the Quality of Stored Food”

They analyzed over 10,000 food storage systems in Utah in their research.

The concise 20 page pdf file covers what food to store, the storage area, and storage life.  A surprising observation I found in this document regarding how much food to store was;

If you were to sample most Utah family food storage programs in November, about 45 percent would have adequate stores of food for one year. If the same families were resampled in May only 20 percent would still have a years supply on hand. Families which did not have a years supply in May had used food from storage and had no garden or orchard to replenish the supply during the winter months.

They go on to recommend you have a long term food storage that has a peak 18 months supply if you are planning to always have a years supply. This makes sense if you are utilizing a garden approach to supplement your food supply.

What was even more shocking though was this finding on page six;

Families that were resampled and still had a years supply in May did so because they never used food from their storage system. We have analyzed over 10,000 food storage systems in Utah and found that many people are under the illusion that food lasts forever. Their food storage systems are designed so that a years supply is purchased and stored until needed. Consequently they have some stored food that is 10, 20, and 25 years old. In view of what is known about shelf-life, these systems are quite wasteful and inefficient.

Under this illusion what people thought they had, a years supply, disappeared when they went to use it.  Not a comforting thought. They had solved the problem by not drawing on their reserve but in the end they had no reserve, the food was inedible.

This would not be the case with freeze dried food however. Having freeze dried food that is 10, 20, and 25 years old in a food storage area means the food is still good and delicious to eat.

How many people who start something are able to follow thru and stick to the plan for months or years to come?

Most people find it overwhelming to take action to have a long term food storage to be prepared for disasters and economic uncertainty.

They read lots of information online that tells them they have to radically change their lifestyle to support food storage. The people who write these food storage advice articles are often already in a lifestyle suited to what they preach.

There is nothing wrong with their advice, it simply doesn’t apply to the vast majority of us urban dwelling working parents with kids who have tons of activities and school projects to do every week.

How to Get Started With Your Food Storage is one of those interview articles where the person has a lot of home time to bake bread, use milk powder, and spend tons of time cooking from scratch. This is great if you are in a lifestyle that supports it but for most of us that is not the case.

Answering the question about how often the food storage is used the person replies;

Now it’s natural. But I would say every meal. I make my own bread so at lunch we have that, at breakfast if we have cereal or something then it has the powdered milk. And then dinner would have usually milk or onions or something. I use it all the time.

Further they are asked on advice to those getting started in food storage since it is “a hard step” ;

So what I would say is just pick one thing that you’re going to start with. And one of the things I think is easiest to start with is powdered milk

Okay, so I want to be prepared and I start with powered milk. How many months or years go by before we are ready? How long before most of us just give up?

On the other hand you can order a freeze dried food storage family unit and be ready in a week when it arrives.

You will have 3 months worth of ready to eat meals for your family that costs about the same as the average American family pays now for the same meals in groceries. The food will store for 25 years so if you don’t need it this year or next, it will still be there for you whenever you need it.

Those who are supporting their families with a traditional food storage lifestyle are inspirations to us all.

Those who want to be prepared next week and buy a freeze dried food storage have also done a great thing for their family and friends.

There is a need and great value of having a food reserve for tough economic times. The chances of a depression have increased greatly since I wrote about it on September 15th, and many will experience hardships for sure.

Some are stating that if there is a depression it will not be as severe as the “Great depression” that occurred last century. Of course the same people were saying just a few weeks ago the worst of the bank troubles were behind us.

So is there need for a food reserve? What type of food reserve is the best value?

First, the need for a food reserve is greater now than in the past. At the worst part of the great depression unemployment reached a high of 25%. Anyone who read John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” will have a feel for what it was like for people in rural areas trying to survive.

However there is a big difference between now and then.  Then much of the population was rural and able to revert to a sustenance economy to get food to just barely survive the crisis. Now most of our population is urban. Most people will be totally dependent on food supplied in markets. Adding to this is the fact many foods are imported. Further, even non-perishable food is managed with tightly controlled “just in time” inventory to maximize profits. In a global crisis food imports are likely to dwindle as nations focus on self preservation. Food stock-outs will be more common. There may difficulty in getting food and prices will rise.

What food reserve is the best value?

For the same reasons that I strongly recommend freeze dried food for disasters, it is also the best value for hard economic times. It is easy to store, only needs water, no preparation or cooking required, and has long storage of up to 25 years. It can provide food insurance protection for a long time.

It is also better from a community perspective because when you buy freeze dried food you are actually increasing the future food supply for all by utilizing food available now before there is a shortage.

By having a food reserve to draw from in hard times with food shortages,  you will be able to leave food on the store shelf for those who do not have a food reserve.

A lesson from “The Grapes of Wrath” is that we all do better as a community helping each other.

Having a food reserve will enable you to make a contribution when the time comes, either by leaving food for others at the supermarket and also by sharing the reserves you have with those most in need.

An important final note is that freeze dried food while readily available now, has earlier this year experienced long lead times of 6-8 weeks, during heightened concern about high oil prices and related food price increases.

Here are a list of some of the more popular posts about MRE, freeze dried food, long term food storage, water storage, and other prepareness topics. These posts were chosen based on number of visitors and average time that you as visitors spent reading them.

Choosing Survival Food

Survival Food Options - Scored Comparison

Review - The “Ultimate-Pak™” Years Supply Food Reserve

Is Precious Time in a Disaster Worth More than $5.63 per Hour?

Why Popular Survivalist Food Advice is a Disaster

MRE Case Price Comparision - September 2008 Update

Mountain House #10 Cans Versus Pouches

Survival Water Storage - Update

Top 10 Freeze Dried Food & MRE Sites

MRE’s and Flameless Ration Heaters (FRH)

How Freeze Dried Food is Made

Factory Tour - Mountain House #10 cans

Freezing MRE - Don’t do it

Survival Food - Short and Long Term Planning

Freeze Dried Food, MRE, versus bulk food and canned Food

“Stored food and water should be cycled out every six months”

Dehydrated Food Versus Freeze Dried Food

“82% of Americans Would Get Prepared if it Was Easier to Do”

The image on the left shows boxes of Mountain House #10 cans. The image on the right shows Mountain House pouches.

Pouches are popular with hikers, rock climbers and back-packers. Mountain house also sells them in cases as a food reserve.

They are a meal in pouch, just add water.

A Mountain House pouch can be used as a survival food reserve and are specifically packaged as such in the “just in case unit” 7 day food supply box pictured above.

This is comparable to MRE with the distinction they taste better, are easier to digest but require more preparation since you need to add water.

When you compare a pouch to a #10 can the main difference is that pouches are an individual meal. Mountain house #10 cans are a bulk, 8-10 serving food reserve unit.

More important however, pouches will store for up to 7 years at 75° F (24° C), while #10 cans will last 25 years under the same conditions.

While it is more convenient to have the pouches and they are a good alternative to MRE if you can’t stand the taste or digest MREs, #10 cans are a much longer lasting and better investment for disaster preparedness.

The exception are those people who find the contents of the pouches comparable enough to fresh food, and will consume pouches periodically for regular meals and continuously re-stock them as a food reserve for disasters. Then the 7 year shelf life is not an issue.

Finally a food reserve of the same duration in #10 cans will store in a smaller space than the pouches due to the cans being a bulk (less packaging) food supply.

In summary;

Mountain House Pouch

• More convenient package as a meal
• taste better than MRE
• Store for up to 7 years

Mountain House #10 Can

• bulk, 8-10 one cup servings of one item
• store for up top 25 years
• store more efficiently than pouches

Buy Mountain House Just In Case Unit

Buy Mountain House #10 can Freeze Dried Food Reserve

Good Advice for Some is a Recipe for Disaster for Others

Most of us want to take action to mitigate risk of trouble in life for us and our families. That is why most of us have home and car insurance, buy smoke detectors and gas alarms, and have periodic safety maintenance of our homes and cars.

Yet when it comes to disaster prepardeness only 7% are prepared. Why?

For most the perceived risk level is much lower than a house fire or other events that happen more frequently than a disaster so there is less desire and interest in taking action.

Another factor however is the perceived significant, huge, dedicated, effort involved to be “food prepared”. Where does this perception come from?

Do a Google search on survival food or food preparedness and you will find a lot of information from survivalists. Many of these survival sites provide good expert advice on survival and food preparedness.

However much of that survivalist advice is for those who are committed and dedicated to spending a huge amount of time and effort to be prepared.

Advice you often see at these survival websites is to buy in bulk at big box stores. That is buy the grains, flour, and other food products in large 50 lb bags. Then you need to spend a lot of time dividing it into food storage containers, labeling those containers by date, use dry ice to increase storage life, the effort goes on and on.

What you need to do next is spend a lot of time to cook and consume that bulk food every day on a regular basis and periodically “stock-up” to keep your “not so fresh” inventory from going bad. You need to monitor your labeled, bulk food “home warehouse” and maintain a FIFO (first in, first out) inventory system to make sure the food you use today is the oldest in your home warehouse. Does this sound appealing? Will your current lifestyle easily accommodate this continuous effort to be prepared?

What if there is a shortage when you need to re-stock on bulk grain? Timing is everything in this system and you could be spending a lot of effort to be prepared but end up unprepared because of bad timing.

Do you think you are prepared to do all of the above to be “prepared”? Even if you are motivated now at this time and ambitiously say “yes”, what is the chance you will give up this “preparedness is my life” dedication and send most of the 200 lbs of bulk rice you just bought to the garbage dump?

While I can admire the dedication that these people follow to be prepared, I know that most of us are not inclined to go to these extremes to be food prepared. Not everyone wants to nor obviously will they, make a such a drastic lifestyle change to support food preparedness.

Is the above survivalist system the only way to be food prepared for months or even a year?

Is there an easier way that is not extremely expensive?

How can a much greater number of Americans than 7%, really become food prepared and thus decrease the burden relief agencies need to support in a disaster?

The simple answer is freeze dried food. Buy it once, Mountain House #10 cans can last up to 25 years. Store it in a cool dry place, forget about it till you need it. You can mark ‘Expires in 2033′ on the boxes in case you never use it in the next 25 years.

Then you won’t be clearing out pallets of rice at the big box every 6 months like the survivalist’s recommend you do. You won’t be caught off guard when there is a shortage at the time you need to re-stock your 200 lbs of bulk grain.

Information on Survival Food Products;

• Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

• MRE’s

• 72-hour Survival Kits

• Free Shipping on orders over $100

KT

MRE is not usually mentioned in the same sentence with words like gourmet or delicious. It is at best compared to food from a can.

It has many derogatory acronyms referred to by soldiers such as “meals refusing to exit” for it’s digestive properties, and mystery meat for taste, etc.

With this in mind before you choose MRE as a survival food, you should make sure you and your family find it tasty enough to survive on and digest.

You may think now that they will be satisfied with “any food” if need be after a disaster if there is “no other choice”.

But there is another choice - not to eat, and that can become a serious problem.

It will be a risk to morale and safety if the food you eat causes more distress on top of the situation you are in.

So it would be best if you can do a trial run eating whatever food you choose for preparedness for a few days. If you and and your family are not thrilled with how the food tastes at least you have an idea what to expect in the event you need to use it. If it is impossible for some of your family to eat, make a decision to look at some other type of food option such as freeze dried food.

While you may not find the taste of MRE as bad as mentioned above, and there are actually some people who really like it, one consolation is that it is easily heated. In 10 minutes you can have a hot meal by adding water to the MRE’s flameless ration heater pouch most MRE comes with.

If you are cold and wet, hot food tends to taste delicious no matter what you would have thought otherwise.

I found a recent blog post on MRE taste and digestive implications here;

Tales from around the world - The MRE

The post pretty much validates my opinion that MRE should only be considered for a 72 hour mobile kit or at most a one week emergency food source for preparedness.

Here is a interesting video on some Utah chefs who tasted MRE for a review.

This statement, in an American Red Cross press press release from August 2007 (below), tells you that there is a need to make things easier.

Otherwise, if it is not made easy as another statistic in the same press release indicates, 93% will continue to not be prepared.

You can order online an 72 hour emergency kit, with all the supplies the Red Cross recommends, in minutes.

You can order kits and long shelf life survival food from trusted online stores that existed for decades as real brick and mortar stores, not some fly-by-night “eBay store”.

The two main survival foods (after food bars in 72 hour kits) are MRE (meals ready to eat) and Freeze dried food. You can order various food reserves that will be enough food for one week, one month, or even one year. It can be delivered to your house and then stored in less than an hour.

How easy is that?

MRE can last up to 5-7 years if stored in a cool place. Freeze dried food will last up to 30 years. You won’t need to replace these items every 6 months or every year. This is a key point if you want your food reserve to be ready when you need it, without having to replace parts of it often.

The challenge with completing the 72-hour kits will be the things that are custom to you and your family; maps, medications, etc that can’t be included in a general 72 hour kit. Other than these custom items, everything else is only few mouse clicks to your door.

Where can I buy kits and survival food?

American Family Safety - Great Selection of 72 hour kits

Nitro-Pak - 72-hour kits MRE Freeze Dried Food

Below is the August 30, 2007 press release from the American Red Cross

*****************************************

Media Advisory:

September is National Preparedness Month: Only 7% of Americans Have Taken the Necessary Steps to Prepare for Disasters

Red Cross Survey Indicates 82% of Americans Would Get Prepared if it Was Easier to Do

WASHINGTON, Thursday, August 30, 2007

VIDEO FEEDS: Thursday, August 30, from 2:30 – 2:45 PM ET

September is National Preparedness Month yet only 7% of Americans have taken the steps necessary to get prepared, according to the American Red Cross ¹ . Why? Many people just don’t have the time. In fact, an American Red Cross survey indicates that 82% of Americans say they would get prepared if it were easier to do ². Additionally, among Americans who had not put together a disaster kit, 65% agreed that they would be more likely to have a kit if one were available for sale and contained basic items to get them started ³.

The Red Cross is using National Preparedness Month to urge every family to “Be Red Cross Ready”: to get a kit, make a plan and be informed. One way the American Red Cross has made it easier for families to get prepared is by offering a variety of first aid, health, safety, and emergency preparedness items.

“We’ve tried to make it as simple as possible for everyone to get prepared,” said Laura Howe, spokes-person for the Red Cross. “In purchasing these items, the public can feel good about not only preparing their families but also supporting the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross.”

Red Cross items available to the public include first aid kits, disposable and heavy-duty work gloves, hand sanitizer, emergency preparedness kits, hand-crank radios, auto safety kits, and a variety of essential education guides. Additionally, the Red Cross has a line of infant health and wellness products that help par-ents get prepared, encouraging them to take Red Cross courses in infant first aid and CPR. These items are available online, at many Red Cross chapters, and at a variety of retail locations nationwide.

Proceeds from the sale of these items go directly back into supporting the mission of the organization. Over the last few months, the Red Cross has responded to meet the needs of thousands of disaster victims affected by severe summer floods in nine different states; every dollar helps.

The public is also invited to take a free online education module available at www.redcross.org/BeRedCrossReady, which walks visitors through the three simple preparedness actions: to get a kit, make a plan and be informed.

This story is provided by the American Red Cross.