FOOD

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EVACUATION

Camping and war continue to be the two great inspirations for portable, concentrated food supplies. For that matter, these two demanding human undertakings are not too far removed from what you might have to go through during an evacuation. That being said, the good news is that recent advances in preservation techniques have produced even longer shelf-lives for survival foods. If you want to have just one type of emergency food supply these are what you need. They have a higher per meal cost than the long-life canned variety, but on average they're still less expensive than most prepared meals you buy every day.

MRE's: The U.S. military's "Meals, Ready to Eat" have been the standard field ration for soldiers since 1981. They have seen considerable improvement over the earlier issues which had nicknames like "Meals, Rarely Edible" or "Meals Rejected by the Enemy". Today there a number of commercially available MRE's, but most are still manufactured according to military specifications including a requirement that each "meal" supplies1,200 calories. MRE's contain a mix of dishes that are sealed in foil "retort pouches" (essentially a thin-skinned, flexible can) then boiled for cooking and sterilization. Longevity depends largely on storage temperature, but kept cool (under 70 degrees) MRE's should be good for at least five years. They're tasty (most of the time!), light-weight, easy to pack and easy to eat -- heating recommended but not required. They're usually sold in boxes of 12 costing around $65. To make them completely self-contained get the version that comes with portable chemical heaters. THIS IS THE BEST CHOICE FOR APARTMENT DWELLERS AND OTHERS WITH NO SAFE ALTERNATIVE HEATING OPTION.

Backpacking Meals: If you've hit the trails in the last decade or so, your're probably already familiar with this type of freeze-dried pouch food. There are hundreds of different dishes available, from main entrees, vegetable and starch sides to deserts and breakfasts. Unlike MRE's that contain several types of food in each unit, these backpacking meals have only one dish per pouch and they need to be prepared with hot water. On the other hand, freeze-drying means better tasting food. If you don't want to agonize over choices, buy one of the assortments. My favorite freeze-dried food company, Mountain House, makes a great variety of food pouches that are sold by distributors in a range of kit sizes, from a compact 72-hour size to a 90-day supply. Buy a month's worth and you'll have a first-rate supply of portable survival food for a small group.

Survival Food Bars: Less well known than MRE's, these are specially formulated "short-bread cookie" blocks with the highest concentrations of nutritional ingredients (carbs, protein and fat) found in survival food. Since they are produced under U.S. Coast Guard guidelines -- specifically for use as emergency life raft and ship rations -- they are non-thirst provoking and highly stable in extreme temperatures. They come in 2400 or 3600 calorie sealed packages, but each unit is tabletized and subpackaged for easier rationing. Most brands have a standard shelf-life of five years. In may ways this is the ultimate survival food, but you probably don't want to subsist on "cookies" for too long.

Handy Extras: For short-term emergencies you can keep a stock of other simple, common backbacking foods. Foods like snack bars don't have long shelf-lives, but if you switch them out on a regular basis (and seal them in zip-loc bags or airtight containers) they can serve as handy portable food sources. They're most useful when you're feeling hungry, but don't want to bother with preparing MRE's or food pouches There are lots to choose from, but my favorite is the Navy Seal's HOOAH! Bar, specially formulated to provide a steady energy boost during sustained field operations. Also good to have in a pinch is a stash of easily absorbed energy gels that provide almost immediate power boosts.

Questions or comments? Email me at technolithic@discovery.com.

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