Menu C MREs
  
"Menu C" MREs are the newest brand of MREs on the civilian market. These MREs are the closest thing out there to real military MREs. The look of the meal bag, case, and the contents themselves are very much like the real thing.
Menu C History
In late 2007, a new brand of MREs came onto the market. These weren't quite a civilian commercial brand like the Ameriqual aPacks, Sopakco Sure-Pak 12s, or the MREStar MREs. Instead, these MREs were initially produced by one of the major MRE manufacturers for a US military contractor working in Iraq. Civilian agencies aren't allowed to buy MREs so this company wanted an MRE-like product built to their menu specifications. Since military MREs already come in "A" and "B" menus, these new contractor MREs were nicknamed "Menu C" MREs.
Before the entire order could be delivered, the contractor scaled back operations in the Middle East and this left the manufacturer with a large supply of extra Menu C MREs. Fortunately, an emergency preparedness company named MREDepot.com picked up the entire lot of MREs from the manufacturer and began selling them on their website and through eBay. Additionally, MREDepot.com is working with the manufacturer to ensure a continued supply of these MREs for at least the next couple of years.
Menu C MREs
Here's a look at a Menu C MRE:
  
Notice how the MRE meal bag itself looks similar to the 2007 and earlier military MREs. But if you look a little closer, you can see that the soldier logo on the bag has been changed and the "Government Property" and "Commercial Resale Is Prohibited" warnings are not there. These changes were made because the Menu C MREs are not government property and because these are perfectly legal to sell to any civilians.
Because the manufacturer wanted to be sure there was no confusing Menu C MREs with military MREs, they made a point of changed the soldier logo that appears on every meal bag. Here's a comparison between the Menu C logo and the military MRE logo:
|
Menu C Logo
|
Military MRE Logo
|
|
 |
This is what a Menu C MRE looks like after you open it and remove the contents:
| Looking inside the MRE bag |
Contents of Menu C MRE |
|
|
|
|
Menu 5 - Meatloaf w/Gravy
|
Menu 10 - Meatballs in Marinara
|
|
|
|
The actual food items inside are usually the exact same items as found in military MREs (and in most other civilian MREs). There are some cases where the crackers or desserts will be in silver packaging as you can see above. Those are items from the Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDRs). The only difference between HDR components and military MRE components is the color of the packaging.
Even the accessory pack (toilet paper, matches, etc.), spoon, and Flameless Ration Heater (FRH) are exactly the same as the military MREs.
Overall Rating
Overall, these MREs are packed with food! Whoever spec'd out the menus for these made sure that each MRE had extra snack items. As a result, the average calorie count for the Menu C MREs is between 1500 and 1800 calories - much higher than the 1300 calories found in a military MRE.
 
Menu C Menus
| MENU 1 |
Calories
|
MENU 2 |
Calories
|
MENU 3 |
Calories
|
Chili w/Beans
Crackers
Strawberry Jam
Baked Snack Crackers
Carmel Apple Ranger Bar
Cinnamon Scone
BBQ Sauce
Raisins
Candy III
Accessory Packet A
Spoon |
240
180
70
240
190
190
50
140
240
45
|
Chicken Fajita
Wheat Snack Bread
Cheese Spread, Bacon
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
Fig Bars
Oatmeal Cookies
BBQ Sauce
Beverage Base, Iced Tea
Accessory Packet B
Spoon |
200
180
180
230
180*
280
50
60
70
|
Chicken w/Dumplings
Crackers
Apple Jelly
Cinnamon Scone
Baked Snack Crackers
Shortbread Cookies
Candy II
BBQ Sauce
Accessory Packet A
Spoon |
280
180
70
190
240
90
240
50
45
|
|
Total:
|
1,585
|
Total:
|
1,430
|
Total:
|
1,385
|
| MENU 4 |
Calories
|
MENU 5 |
Calories
|
MENU 6 |
Calories
|
Cheese & Vegetable Omelet
Toaster Pastry
Crackers
Peanut Butter
Cinnamon Scone
Raisins
Beverage Base, Iced Tea
Tabasco Bottle, Red
Accessory Packet C
Spoon |
270
200
180
260
190
140
60
70
|
Meatloaf w/Gravy
Cheese Spread, Bacon
Caramel Apple Bar
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fig Bars
Candy IV
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
BBQ Sauce
Raisins
Accessory Packet B
Spoon |
280
180
190
290
180*
120*
230
50
140
70
|
Chicken w/ Noodles
Crackers
Peanut Butter
Cinnamon Scone
Baked Snack Crackers
Carmel Apple Ranger Bar
Candy III
Tabasco Bottle, Red
Beverage Base, Fruit Punch
Accessory Packet A
Spoon |
270
180
260
190
240
190
240*
130
45
|
|
Total:
|
1,370
|
Total:
|
1,730
|
Total:
|
1,745
|
| MENU 7 |
Calories
|
MENU 8 |
Calories
|
MENU 9 |
Calories
|
Chicken w/Salsa
Shortbread Cookies
Crackers
Cheese Spread, Bacon
Cinnamon Scone
Oatmeal Cookies
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
Raisins
Tabasco Bottle, Green
Accessory Packet B
Spoon |
210
90
180
180
190
280
230
140
70
|
Beef Patty
Crackers
Apple Jelly
Chocolate Sports Bar
BBQ Sauce
Fig Bars
Baked Snack Crackers
Beverage Base, Trop. Punch
Raisins
Accessory Packet B
Spoon |
140
180
70
200*
50
180*
240
130
140
70
|
Beef Enchiladas
Crackers
Strawberry Jam
Cinnamon Scone
Baked Snack Crackers
Picante Sauce
Carmel Apple Ranger Bar
Accessory Packet A
Spoon |
280
180
70
190
240
10
190
45
|
|
Total:
|
1,570
|
Total:
|
1,400
|
Total:
|
1,205
|
| MENU 10 |
Calories
|
MENU 11 |
Calories
|
MENU 12 |
Calories
|
Meatballs in Marinara
Crackers
Peanut Butter
Oatmeal Cookies
Cinnamon Scone
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
Candy I
Tabasco Bottle, Red
Accessory Packet C
Spoon |
300
180
260
280
190
230
240*
70
|
Vegetable Manicotti
Carmel Apple Ranger Bar
Wheat Snack Bread
Peanut Butter
Baked Snack Crackers
Cinnamon Scone
Beverage Base, Fruit Punch
Tabasco Bottle, Green
Raisins
Accessory Packet B
Spoon |
250
190
180
260
240
190
130
140
70
|
Cheese Tortellini
Oatmeal Cookies
Crackers
Strawberry Jam
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
Cinnamon Scone
Candy I
Accessory Packet B
Spoon |
240
280
180
70
230
190
240*
70
|
|
Total:
|
1,750
|
Total:
|
1,650
|
Total:
|
1,500
|
|
|
Average Calories per MRE:
Total Calories per Case:
|
1,527
18.320
|
* Estimated calories
Menu C Case Pictures
  
Menu Cs vs. Military MREs
It's not just the Menu Cs' meal bags that are similar to the military MREs - the cases are similar, too. But there are enough differences that you should be able to tell the two apart:
| Top - No Time & Temperature Indicator (TTI) on the Menu Cs, no Menu A/B markings. |
Bottom - slightly different markings |
|
|
|
| Side - "Commercial Resale Prohibited" label removed on Menu Cs |
Front - looks the same |
|
|
|
Where to Buy
Menu C MREs are available through the MREDepot.com website or through their eBay store . On their website, the Menu C MREs are priced at $79.95. Shipping from California is NOT included (comes to around $22 from CA to NC) .
 
|
|
