Most people are woefully ignorant in gathering emergency supplies they need beyond having a first aid kit in their house.  When you are stuck in your house for days on end, make sure you have at least enough food and water available for each member of your household in the first 72 hours. You might think that is not a big deal since you probably have enough food to last you for 3 days but consider that in a power outage, the food can go bad.  How will you cook the food?  In a flood, the food can also spoil if it is kept in the basement.

This is why MRE meals ready to eat are ideal to have as emergency food ration packs since they were originally designed for the military.  After Hurricane Katrina, people realized how important it is to stock up on emergency meals that are self contained and ready to eat.

US Military: 'Main Course' LRP Rations - Survival Emergency Food! $42.00 Time Remaining: 7d 9h 40m Buy It Now for only: $42.00

HUGE lot of MREs Vegetarian, Chili Mac SURVIVAL FOOD CAMPING MILITARY MRE Sealed $20.49 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 19h 47m

US Military Long Range Patrol 'LRP' Rations - Survival Emergency Food! $40.00 Time Remaining: 8d 11h 22m Buy It Now for only: $40.00

New Military LRP Rations: 'Chili Mac w/ Beef' - 1 Full Case Survival Food! $132.00 Time Remaining: 14d 15h 12m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

MRE Accessory Packages military flashlight Datrex food bars survival emergency $2.36 (4 Bids) Time Remaining: 13h 43m

New Military LRP Rations: 'Seafood Cowder' - 1 Full Case Survival Food! $132.00 Time Remaining: 14d 15h 49m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

US Military: 'Scrambled Eggs w/ Bacon' food rations - LRP Cold Weather! $132.00 Time Remaining: 13d 6h 41m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $15.99 Time Remaining: 3d 19h 24m Buy It Now for only: $24.99

Military Outdoor Emergency Rice Food Combat C Ration MRE Beef Powder Bibimbap ① $6.99 Time Remaining: 13d 8h 30m Buy It Now for only: $6.99

US Military: 'Mexican Rice & Chicken' food rations - 1 case LRP Cold Weather! $132.00 Time Remaining: 13d 12h 4m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

Korean Military Outdoor Emergency Rice Food Combat C Ration MRE Bibimbap 5 packs $29.99 Time Remaining: 1d 8h 14m

Military Outdoor Emergency Rice Food Combat C Ration MRE Beef Bibimbap 1 packs $7.99 Time Remaining: 9h 16m Buy It Now for only: $7.99

New Military LRP Rations: 'Western Eggs with Ham' - 1 Full Case Survival Food! $132.00 Time Remaining: 14d 15h 53m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

Military Outdoor Emergency Rice Food Combat C Ration MRE Beef Bibimbap 4 packs $24.99 Time Remaining: 1d 9h 3m

MILITARY MRE MRE'S CORNBREAD SNACK BREAD EMERGENCY SURVIVAL CAMPING FOOD $1.25 Time Remaining: 8d 19h 37m Buy It Now for only: $1.25

MILITARY MRE MRE'S JELLY JAMS APPLE GRAPE BERRY EMERGENCY SURVIVAL CAMPING FOOD $2.00 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 35m Buy It Now for only: $2.00

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $21.99 Time Remaining: 2d 20h 41m Buy It Now for only: $29.99

MILITARY MRE MRE'S ENTREE CHILI & MACARONI CHILI MAC SURVIVAL FOOD EMERGENCY $3.00 Time Remaining: 7d 12h 7m Buy It Now for only: $3.00

Korean Military Outdoor Emergency Rice Food Combat C Ration MRE Bibimbap 5 packs $29.99 Time Remaining: 10d 18h 41m Buy It Now for only: $29.99

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $14.99 Time Remaining: 2d 21h 41m Buy It Now for only: $24.99

MILITARY MRE MRE'S ENTREE CHICKEN FAJITA MEAL FOOD CAMP $3.00 Time Remaining: 4d 8h 25m Buy It Now for only: $3.00

MILITARY MRE MRE'S SIDE CORNBREAD STUFFING EMERGENCY FOOD MEAL SURVIVAL CAMPING $2.00 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 11m Buy It Now for only: $2.00

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $14.99 Time Remaining: 2d 21h 46m Buy It Now for only: $24.99

New Military LRP Rations: 'Beef Stew' - 1 Full Case Survival Food! $132.00 Time Remaining: 14d 15h 36m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

MILITARY MRE MRE'S ENTREE CHICKEN TETRAZZINI EMERGENCY SURVIVAL FOOD $3.00 Time Remaining: 7d 18h 41m Buy It Now for only: $3.00

MILITARY MRE MRE'S ENTREE CHILI WITH BEANS EMERGENCY SURVIVAL CAMPING FOOD $3.00 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 16m Buy It Now for only: $3.00

New Korean Military Outdoor Hiking Combat Emergency Food C Ration MRE Bibimbap ① $6.99 Time Remaining: 1d 8h 15m

MILITARY MRE MRE'S SIDE FRIED RICE EMERGENCY SURVIVAL CAMPING FOOD $2.00 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 19m Buy It Now for only: $2.00

MILITARY MRE MRE'S CHICKEN PESTO PASTA CAMPING SURVIVAL FOOD EMERGENCY HUNTING $3.00 Time Remaining: 8d 19h 17m Buy It Now for only: $3.00

Military Outdoor Emergency Rice Food Combat C Ration MRE Beef Bibimbap 1 packs $7.99 Time Remaining: 1d 21h 59m

New Military LRP Rations: 'Spicy Oriental Chicken' - 1 Full Case Survival Food! $132.00 Time Remaining: 14d 14h 52m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

MILITARY MRE MRE'S SNACK GRANOLA EMERGENCY SURVIVAL CAMPING FOOD $2.00 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 28m Buy It Now for only: $2.00

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $5.99 Time Remaining: 5d 23m Buy It Now for only: $9.99

New Military LRP Rations: 'Chicken & Rice' - 1 Full Case Survival Food! $132.00 Time Remaining: 14d 15h 21m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

MILITARY MRE MRE'S DRINK MIX LEMONADE SUGAR FREE EMERGENCY SURVIVAL FOOD $1.25 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 47m Buy It Now for only: $1.25

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $7.99 Time Remaining: 5d 26m Buy It Now for only: $12.99

Military MRE, Spicy Penne Pasta VEGETARIAN Menu 17, Survival Food $7.99 Time Remaining: 5d 18h 25m Buy It Now for only: $7.99

MILITARY MRE MRE'S DRINK MIX IRISH CREAM CAPPUCCINO EMERGENCY SURVIVAL FOOD $1.50 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 41m Buy It Now for only: $1.50

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $7.99 Time Remaining: 5d 30m Buy It Now for only: $12.99

MILITARY MRE MRE'S SIDE PINEAPPLE EMERGENCY SURVIVAL CAMPING FOOD $2.00 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 30m Buy It Now for only: $2.00

MILITARY MRE MRE'S DESSERT OATMEAL COOKIE EMERGENCY SURVIVAL FOOD $2.00 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 44m Buy It Now for only: $2.00

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $7.99 Time Remaining: 5d 34m Buy It Now for only: $12.99

MILITARY MRE MRE'S ENTREE VEGETABLE LASAGNA EMERGENCY FOOD SURVIVAL CAMPING $3.00 Time Remaining: 9d 22h 24m Buy It Now for only: $3.00

MILITARY MRE MRE'S SIDE PEARS EMERGENCY SURVIVAL CAMPING FOOD $2.00 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 31m Buy It Now for only: $2.00

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $7.99 Time Remaining: 5d 12h 59m Buy It Now for only: $9.99

Military Outdoor Emergency Rice Food Combat C Ration MRE Beef Bibimbap 4 packs $24.99 Time Remaining: 9h 12m Buy It Now for only: $24.99

MILITARY MRE MRE'S DRINK MIX CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT COCOA EMERGENCY SURVIVAL FOOD $1.50 Time Remaining: 8d 20h 38m Buy It Now for only: $1.50

MRE, Meal Ready to Eat, Meals, Food, Camping, Military, Brand New, Freeze Dried $7.99 Time Remaining: 5d 13h 4m Buy It Now for only: $9.99

New Military LRP Rations: 'Turkey Tetrazzini' - 1 Full Case Survival Food! $132.00 Time Remaining: 14d 15h 44m Buy It Now for only: $132.00

Military MRE, Cheese Tortellini Menu 13, Survival Food, Meal Ready To Eat $7.99 Time Remaining: 5d 18h 25m Buy It Now for only: $7.99

Of course, it doesn’t need to be an emergency for you to enjoy a MRE.  Some people actually like the convenience of these packages when they have nothing else available in the house.  They are also great to take along as camping meals, backpacking food, or mountain house food when you are out in the wilderness.  Manufacturers now are clueing in on the demand of civilian MREs for such occasions.  Taste wise, meals ready to eat are quite palatable.  New menus are out every year and each MRE is really a full meal that generally contains the following items: main course, side dish, dessert, cracker or bread along with the spread, powdered mix for drink, utensils, flameless ration heater and other eating accessories.

It really is a wise decision to buy MRE packs and keep a few cases on hand.  The uses for these are multiple as stated but it all comes down to providing sustenance in a time of need and saving lives.