If you're preparing for an emergency situation, whether it's a natural disaster or any other catastrophic event, you probably already have stockpiles of canned food and dry staples in your pantry or basement. This covers the long-term situations. You might also have some MREs or freeze-dried food packets in your 72-hour bag or vehicle for medium-length survival situations. But what about the short-term events?
There are plenty of instances where you might need a quick meal, but don't have time or resources to heat, mix, slice, or rehydrate anything. For example, you might be having a particularly busy day and need to eat while driving or walking. Or maybe you're packing light for a quick day hike, and don't plan to bring prep-intensive foods. In any case, it's advantageous to have survival snacks in your pocket or get-home bag to tide you over until the next meal.
For the purposes of this article, we have a few considerations for these survival snacks:
- No prep — can be opened and eaten quickly, ideally without using utensils or making a mess
- Compact — should fit into a pocket or small pouch
- Reasonably shelf-stable — it may not need to last for years like the items in your home pantry, but it shouldn't spoil after a few days on the trail
- Calorie-dense — the food should have a decent ratio of calories and nutrients compared to its size and weight
If not for the above points, you might as well whip out an MRE or boil some water for a freeze-dried meal. Fortunately, there are lots of choices to consider in this category. Check out our poll below for a list of potential survival snack options, and select the foods you currently carry or prefer. Some items, like aged hard cheeses, can offer a surprisingly-long shelf-life and break up the monotony of carb-heavy trail foods. Others, such as energy gels, gained popularity from ultralight backpackers and runners.