Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Outdoors

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Where to Buy MREs for Your Emergency Kit

By
Patagonia Provisions 2-Day Camp Meal Kit For 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Are you assembling your own DIY emergency kit list? Record-breaking storms, hurricanes, floods, tornados, and weather-related power outages are in the news much too often. Headlines hardly represent the human suffering that results from the loss of power and safe drinking water. Food is essential for survival regardless of the natural disaster. Many households store an inventory of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) to be prepared. We scoured the internet to find where to buy MRE Meals. Perhaps not surprisingly, we found familiar and trusted online merchants with plenty of MRE selections, listed below. We also included tips on how to buy MREs and factors to consider, further below.

Amazon

  • Augason Farms Lunch and Dinner Variety Pail Emergency Food Supply 4-Gallon Pail – 92 servings

     — $60, was $85

  • XMRE BLUE LINE Food Packs, 12 full meals

     — $95

  • Mountain House Classic Bucket, 24 Servings

     — $110

  • Wise Company Emergency Food Supply, 60 Servings

     — $120

  • Sopakco 24ct US Military Surplus MRE

     — $198

Dick’s Sporting Goods

  • OMEALS 8 oz. Lentils with Beef, 1 serving

     — $10

  • Redcon1 MRE Lite Animal Based Protein Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, 30 Servings

     — $40

  • King Kooker Party-Size Jambalaya Mix

     — $47

  • Wise Company Prepper Bucket, 52 servings

     — $70

REI

  • Mountain House Breakfast Skillet XL, 8 Servings

     — $55

  • Mountain House 3-Day Emergency Food Supply Kit, 18 Servings

     — $74

  • AlpineAire Foods Ready Meal Kit

     — $85

  • Patagonia Provisions 2-Day Camp Meal Kit For 2

     — $89

Walmart

  • Redcon1 MRE BAR Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, 12 Bars

     — $30

  • APack MREs, 12 meals

     — $110

  • Sure-Pak 12 MRE Kit – 12 Full Meals

     — $140

  • Augason Farms 1-Person 30-Day Emergency Food Supply

     — $149, was $170

What Should I Know About Buying MREs?

Many people have their first experience with Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) in the military, where nutrition on the go in unpredictable circumstances can be a matter of survival. Few rave about the taste of MREs, although newer technologies have improved the taste and smell. MREs are functional fuel and therefore nutritional value, portability, long shelf-life, and simple preparation all matter more than tastiness. If you’ve decided to build your own emergency survival kit to have on hand in case of disastrous weather events or long-term power loss, consider the following factors.

  • Nutritional  Value: You may not be going on forced marches or even going anywhere, but food you buy to store against an emergency has to deliver sufficient calories and as close to a balanced diet as feasible. Salty snacks and too much sugar works against you nutritionally in an emergency  — well, anytime, but we’re only considering emergency situations.
  • Portability: You may assume that you’ll be camping out in your home, even if the power is out, but what if you have to leave in a hurry. Lightweight, prepacked MREs can make a big difference if you have a 2-minute warning and need to vacate fast. Even if you’re going to leave in a vehicle, an emergency food supply including MREs needs to be easy to transport.
  • Shelf Life: MREs are typically, but not always, freeze-dried. Removing water from MREs during manufacture and processing minimizes weight and also lessens the chance of the food going bad. However, MREs don’t last forever. Like other foods sold in the U.S., MREs have expiration dates, typically in the case of MREs with shelf lives of two or more years. Don’t take a chance on eating an expired MRE or any other food because it could be bad for your health. When choosing MREs to store for emergencies, selecting MREs with long shelf lives can save money now and save your life later.
  • Ease of Preparation: Some MREs are ready to eat right out of the bag (don’t buy MREs in individual meals or servings in cans). Many others may require mixing with water to rehydrate and it’s common that MREs mixed with water need to be cooked, or at least heated, before they’re actually ready to eat. A compact cooking device is a near necessity for most MREs (also for coffee). Air fryers and Instant Pots won’t do you any good during electrical power outages, but a compact, often folding, single-cup-sized cook stove can transform a dry MRE mixed with a little water into a delicious meal. Well, a meal you can actually eat.
Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
A Digital Trends Contributing Editor and Contributor for TheManual.com, Bruce Brown writes e-mobility reviews and covers…
Camping just got a lot easier … with a shoe organizer?
Here's how a shoe organizer can make your camping trip great
Shoe organizer

Camping is all about adventure and relaxation, but nothing ruins the experience faster than a messy campsite. If you've ever found yourself rummaging through bags for your flashlight or struggling to keep your hygiene items off the ground, a hanging shoe organizer can help.

Personally, I love shoe organizers. As someone who lives in a shoebox apartment, they are an absolute must to keep my shoes tidy and tucked away. But believe it or not, they are actually pretty handy at keeping the chaos at bay when you go camping, too. Here's everything you need to know about camping with a shoe organizer.
How a hanging shoe organizer can keep your gear accessible

Read more
Helinox reimagined its OG packable camp chair (again) with the Chair One (re)
Even stronger, more stable, and more eco-friendly, this is the last camp chair you may ever need to buy.
Four campers sitting near a river in Helinox Chair One (re) packable camp chairs.

Packable camp furniture (everything from chairs to tables to folding camp sofas) is so ubiquitous in the loadouts of almost every backpacker, car camper, and overlander these days. Improving on such a simple concept might seem impossible, but that's exactly what the good folks at Helinox have done with their latest Chair One (re) camp chair.

Helinox, the California brand that singlehandedly kicked off the packable camp furniture craze with the debut of the Chair One, has reimagined and redesigned it as the Chair One (re). This latest iteration adds a number of improvements, including dual-tension technology. It's essentially a second tension line within the chair's perimeter that better distributes weight for improved stability and comfort. The company further redesigned the nylon resin hubs and a 30% taller underseat crossbar. The result? It's much easier to get in and out of, plus there's no more wobbling on soft sand beaches and uneven campsite ground. The new Chair One High-Back (re) offers the same improvements, plus better shoulder and upper-back support.

Read more
The Naledi is a tiny teardrop travel trailer that’s surprisingly big on views
With matching "floor-to-ceiling" windows, this pint-sized towable offers more panoramic views than most.
Naledi teardrop travel trailer/camper parked at a desert camp.

It's getting hard for even the best teardrop travel trailers to stand apart from the crowd these days. That's why Naledi Campers decided to go big with its namesake model, with some of the biggest and best views of any pint-sized towable on the market.

The most standout feature of the Naledi Camper is also its most visible. The South African RV maker bookends its design with two large, nearly floor-to-ceiling glass windows — one on either side of the cabin. Unlike traditional teardrop trailers that can feel dark and cramped, the Naledi offers more than twice the glass. This ensures a bright, airy interior with panoramic views of whatever epic campsite you happen to be overnighting at. Two awnings are included, one with drop-down sides for extra privacy.

Read more