# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Cooking, Food Storage, & Preserving >  Are MRE any good?

## steiger589

Howdy,

when checking out eBay I found an enormous amount of military-issue Meals ready to eat (MRE). Are they any good? Any stories to tell? What about the self-heating cans - that sounds great for a field day.

Regards!

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## crashdive123

MRE's are good in that the store for a long time, are convenient, don't need to be heated.  There's a thread or two on here that goes into some deatails about the pro's and some of the con's.  I have a few cases on hand as part of my food/emergency ration supplies.

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## steiger589

Regrets! I'm new to the board. Didn't find the related threads. Anyone help me out here?

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## tacmedic

http://wilderness-survival.net/forum...read.php?t=165

Here you go.

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## steiger589

Thanks, yer a trooper!

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## nick2257

> Howdy,
> 
> when checking out eBay I found an enormous amount of military-issue Meals ready to eat (MRE). Are they any good? Any stories to tell? What about the self-heating cans - that sounds great for a field day.
> 
> Regards!


yes mre are great i ate them for almost three months in afghanistan we would get them off the yanks.

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## Rick

While they do have a long shelf life, you might want to make certain those being sold are not at the end of it. Ask the seller for date packed/inspection dates/menu types if that information is not already listed. Here's a web site that will help you understand the date system and which color packaging to look for. 

http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/mre-date-codes.html

By the way, the selling of genuine MREs is illegal although I doubt the MRE police (yea, they exist. They're called The Office of Operational Rations Security) will be knocking down your door. MREs, after all, are technically the property of the U.S. Government.

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## wareagle69

yup and rick is the thought police( scary) any who there are allot better ways and less expensive ways and even better tasting ways to go than mre's

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## crashdive123

Expiration dates are extremely important as Rick stated.  One thing that I have found is that somebody selling surplus military MRE's are usually selling OOOOOOLD ones.  Best bet IMO is to get the commercially available ones from a supplier that you trust.

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## Rick

Just find out if the commercial ones have a "Flameless Ration Heater" (FRH). Many don't come with one or you have to buy them separately. 

I'm with WE. There are better, more economical ways to carry food.

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## wareagle69

supposedly the distributer of the heat pack mre's will not ship them to canada thats when i discovered walton feeds about a year ago, way better imho

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## Sarge47

While it's true that "SELLING" genuine Govt. MRE's is illeagal, you might do what I did & befriend your local National Guard Supply Sargent who then just might turn loose of a couple cases for you! :Cool:   That way he's not breaking the law...I guess.

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## Jericho117

My dads in the Navy and he once sent me a MRE and it came with powdered milk drink, cookies, crackers, beef stew, and a instant cooking device. They are pretty good, I think they're better than canned food because thier lightweight and make good for camping or hiking trips.

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## yukon55

i think that mres are the best they are convenient and easy to make

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## Rick

So are any of the hundreds of other freeze dried and dehydrated foods. Add hot water, wait a few minutes and instant dinner.

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## prizm63

when the we were younger in a apartment that had its power off nearly every day.
MREs were the main stay. Hot or cold they held up in the heat of the summer without any after taste. My hubby who is stomach sensitive had no problem with them just apply a little tobasco. so glad to see they are becoming availible again.i will be looking at Ebay 
for a box again thanks for the tip.

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## crashdive123

Prizm63 - be very careful with MRE's that you purchase from ebay.  I'm sure there are some good deals to be had, but there have also been cases of MRE's that have long ago seen their "good" days.

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## crashdive123

Here are a couple of places that I have purchased MRE’s and have been very happy with what I received.

http://www.longlifefood.com/

http://www.nitro-pak.com/index.php?o...d3bf93b35ab1d3

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## Rick

And much of what sells on eBay as MREs are not. Look for wording that says, "Just like", "Similar to", etc. tucked away in the verbiage. The title may say MRE but the wording may say something different. If there is any doubt, contact the seller and see my earlier post above about dates.

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## Gray Wolf

longlifefood is selling these items to the government. 
Welcome to our GSA (General Services Administration) Product Page.
     Our GSA contracted products are:
     (1) MRE Full Meals
     (2) MRE Full Meals with Heater Pouches
     (3) Emergency Water Pouches

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## Gray Wolf

Plus the prices for their MRE's include FREE SHIPPING!

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## Rick

That's $6.25 a meal. APack's Ready Meals are $5.00 a meal and they are "about" the same thing as MREs. It's the civilian version of their MREs. 

http://www.readymeal.com/store/home.php

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## Gray Wolf

> That's $6.25 a meal. APack's Ready Meals are $5.00 a meal and they are "about" the same thing as MREs. It's the civilian version of their MREs.


A big difference is that APack's MRE's are only good for up to 3 years, Long Life's MRE's are good for over 6 years kept at the same storage conditions as APack's, and up to 10 years if kept @ 60 degrees.

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## crashdive123

and some of use just like the meatloaf.

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## Rick

I don't think I'll be storing anything edible for 3 or 6 years. Six months, maybe. :Embarrassment:

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## Gray Wolf

> I don't think I'll be storing anything edible for 3 or 6 years. Six months, maybe.


Personally I like the mental comfort in knowing that I have my family BOB, guns, ammo, camp axe, a wooden reinforced box with food (MRE's), next to another one that has 6 - 2 1/2 gal jugs of water (that I rotate out every month) and a pallet of dry logs, tent etc. So if something happens I know I can get us to the mountains or hold up for a couple of weeks without outside food or water.

It's just the Boy Scout in me - BE PREPARED

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## Rick

Oh, I have the same kind of stuff. I just rotate my food and water so nothing sits around that long. Being in a bad situation is not a good time to find out they were a little off on just how long stuff will last.  :Embarrassment: 

Mountain House Foods or any of the other backpacking foods are good as well and in the same price range.

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## Gray Wolf

Something is better than nothing, just be prepared.  Because when the handwriting is on the wall that something bad is about to happen, the prices will go through the roof and the stock will disappear. I should have noted besides for rotating the water, I do the same with the MRE's and dehydrated foods when I go hunting, fishing or camping (FIFO). Everything is labeled with a date, and we keep a stock chart.

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## Rick

et. al - I would suggest trying different brands and buy what you know you will eat. Look for the lowest price foods that taste good. I think folks get too hung up on MREs. If you like them and they are a good price then fine. Just keep your options open.

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