The Sage Informer

A member of the National Guard delivered MREs to our Health class on Wednesday, October 27th. Meals Ready to Eat are meant to keep a person alive throughout military training or a deployment. These MREs must be able to endure parachuting falls of 1,250 feet as well as non-parachuting drops of 100 feet. They also are able to endure strong elements because of the unknowingness of where they’ll need to go. They are utilized when usual food sources are unavailable. 

Each MRE contains around 1,250 calories. A person should consume 2,000 calories each day on average. Because they are so physically active, they consume that in almost one meal. These meals are prepared in advance and preserved for around 3 years. In dire situations these meals can be stored for 10 years. The worst they can suffer is a little discoloration. They don’t need to be cooked and only take a few minutes to put together. 

The MREs come with an entree, side dish, cracker/bread, a spread, dessert, and a beverage. Occasionally they can come with candy and or a hot sauce/seasoning. Entree examples are spaghetti, beef stew, and sausage patties. A side dish would include rice, corn, potatoes. The cracker and bread always has some sort or spread to make it more enjoyable. Finally, the drinks are powder that have to be mixed with water.  Jack Buckalew (junior) said, “ The best thing from the MRE was the water and the dust they call a protein shake”.

The local Italian, Rosa Baker (senior), spoke about her experience trying the food, “Me and my partner chose cheese tortellini. It was probably the worst cheese tortellini I’ve ever tasted, but I guess I would eat it if I was in the National Guard. The nuts were good. The hot sauce was repulsive. It was an interesting experience though.” Baker’s family owns an Italian restaurant in town, so her opinion about pasta holds some credit. A more positive approach from Triston Foran (senior), “I had a chicken pesto pasta MRE, and it was actually really good. The chocolate chip cookie was amazing too.” You can’t go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie!

What can be gained from this experience is appreciation of our military. They put their lives on the line for us, by choice. They endure the hardships that come with protecting and serving. Although the foods are questionable it was a good experience for the class to be able to get to see a piece of the military life.

Katie Chrestman, Staff Writer
chrka22@sages.us