rucanunes wrote:
Could someone tell me please how many MREs do I need for 3 persons for 3 days?
Short answer:
Yes, that's enough food to meet your current goal.
It's one box containing 12 complete meals, averaging just over 1300 calories per meal (for 2009 military MREs, the per meal range is about 1180 to 1750, depending on the semi-random candy parts).
12 x 1300 / (3 x 3) =
1730 calories per person per day
The recommended calorie consumption for a
sedentary male adult is about 2000 calories, and for a female adult it's about 1700. Children vary, depending on age.
MREs are designed for
very active young men and women, not for us "normal" civvies.
Please do
not worry about the confusing marketing garbage.
Those are completely standard military MREs. There's 24 unique menus, and two different menu boxes ("A" has menus #1-12 and "B" has #13-24). The important thing is the
chart near the bottom of the listing, which details the contents of each meal/menu.
They were manufactured near the very end of 2009, so if they've been stored in good conditions, they'll be fine for a few more years. The military mandates that they are inspected every three years, hence the "inspection date" (it is
not the expiry date). I personally would never let "emergency" MRE supplies go a full ten years from manufacture date (as the ad claims) - it's a good idea to gradually rotate, both to try them out and to have at least
some fresher supplies.
Buying a case of MREs is a nice, simple way to get started in emergency/disaster prepping. They're "cool", their purpose is easily understood by just about anyone, and they're very robustly packed (designed to be dropped out of aircraft - dumping them into your car is gentle in comparison).
Before buying from that particular vendor, I do strongly recommend you hang around for a couple of days and see what our expert European comrades say about
price and alternate (better!) sources.
Are you in the UK?
If so, you should consider the British military equivalent. They're more tailored for British tastes, and you can probably find
much better prices for an equivalent (and fresher) quantity.
I also recommend you start building up a longer term (1-3 months) supply of regular canned and other shelf stable goods. Once you have at least one full week of designated, "complete" meals, I recommend you have a one day "technology sabbath" (only essential power), and try out some of the food, as a family. Approach it with a spirit of fun and experimentation.
MREs are just
one component of a comprehensive family "system".
They're a lot cooler and interesting than canned stuff, and can be a great way to put a fun spin on prepping, and get kids and other family members intrigued.
Congrats on starting prepping!
Even a three day supply of "pure" emergency food puts you well ahead of the majority.
To further your MRE education, here's my all-time favorite MREInfo thread, detailing
Kman's week of eating one MRE per day.
