Emergency rations are items of food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

 and drink

Drink

A drink, or beverage, is a liquid which is specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to fulfilling a basic human need, beverages form part of the culture of human society.-Water:...

 that a person stores and relies on in case of an emergency. Emergency food supplies can be purchased for camping trips or wilderness adventures. These supplies are meant to last for several day. Many people also purchase long shelf life emergency food in case of natural disasters or other emergency situations. The food can come in the form of a powder, freeze dried, smoked or salted. The rations are to help people survive until help arrives and are often carried while hill walking or mountaineering, because of the risk of being stranded by an accident. In some organised events, such as Ten Tors

Ten Tors

Ten Tors is an annual weekend hike organised and run in early May for 2,400 young people by the British Army on Dartmoor. The majority of entrants are schools, colleges, Scout groups and Cadet squadrons from South West England, though groups from across the UK regularly take part, as do teams from...

, it is obligatory to carry emergency rations.

Emergency rations are often carried by camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

 enthusiasts, especially back-pack campers, who are more likely to be far from food supplies. Emergency foodstuffs are usually high in caloric content, and sometimes also in nutritional content. Typical emergency foodstuffs are high-calorie foods such as candy bars, nutritional bars energy or sports bars, hard bread or biscuit, dried meat (such as jerky

Jerky (food)

Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then been dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed. The word "jerky" is a bastardization of the...

), and dried fruit. If water is available, rations with little water content are lighter to carry.

Emergency rations are generally carried on the person by people on foot in case of becoming lost or separated from normal food supplies. Water or other drinks are carried if water is not readily available from the environment.