Humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) are food rations intended for humanitarian crises.
Each is intended to serve as a single person's full daily food supply, and contain somewhat over 2,200 calorie

Calorie

The calorie is a pre-SI metric unit of energy. It was first defined by Nicolas Clément in 1824 as a unit of heat, entering French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867. In most fields its use is archaic, having been replaced by the SI unit of energy, the joule...

s. They have shelf-lives of about 3 years, and their contents are designed to be acceptable to a variety of religious and ethnic groups.

The rations were first used in Bosnia in 1993.

The meals are designed to be able to survive being air-dropped, without a parachute.
This is safer for refugees than parachuting large pallets of rations, as well as preventing meal hoarding by individuals.

The meals cost approximately one-fifth of the cost of a meal ready to eat.

HDRs are also made available through organizations such as The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

 to aid victims of poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

 in the United States, and were distributed during Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

 and Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...

 to victims of the disasters by the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...

 (FEMA).

Packaging and distribution

The HDR packages are delivered in cases of packages, each containing a small selection of food items based on predetermined menus and an accessory pack containing red pepper, pepper, salt, sugar, spoon, matches, an alcohol-free moist towelette, and a napkin.

HDRs are typically air-dropped into the disaster area on large pallets. The HDRs initially dropped in Afghanistan were yellow, before it was realized that the packages were the same color, and approximately the same size, as American cluster bomb

Cluster bomb

A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller sub-munitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles...

s, which were also dropped in Afghanistan. Later packages were made in an orange-pink color described as "salmon

Salmon (color)

Salmon a range of pale pinkish-orange to light pink colors, named after the color of salmon flesh.The web color salmon is displayed at right.The first recorded use of salmon as a color name in English was in 1776...

".

Typical contents

• Main Entree
  Entrée
  An entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...
  
  , two of:
  • Lentil or Barley Stew
  • Yellow or Herb Rice
  • Red Beans and Rice
  • Beans and Rice with Tomato Sauce
  • Peas in Tomato Sauce
  • Beans with Potatoes
• Shortbread
  Shortbread
  Shortbread is a type of unleavened biscuit which is traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oatmeal flour. The use of plain white flour is common today, and other ingredients like ground rice or cornflour are sometimes added to alter the texture...
  
  
• Fig bar
• Vegetable cracker
  Cracker (food)
  A cracker is a baked good commonly made from grain flour dough and typically made in quantity in various hand-sized or smaller shapes. Flavorings or seasonings, such as salt, herbs, seeds, and/or cheese, may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking...
  
  s
• Peanut Butter
• Strawberry Jam
• Fruit pastry (much like a Pop-tart)
• Accessory Pack containing:
  • Book of matches (unprinted)
  • Salt, pepper and sugar packets
  • Packet of crushed red pepper
    Capsicum
    Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
    
    
  • Moist towelette (alcohol-free)
  • Paper napkin
  • Plastic spoon

Flameless ration heaters, found in MRE

MRE

The Meal, Ready-to-Eat — commonly known as the MRE — is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available...

s, are not included.

Specifications

Specifications

Shelf life	36 months at 80 F
Weight	30 ounces
Kilo Calories	at least 2200 per package
Protein content	10-13 percent
Fat content	27-30 percent
Carbohydrate content	60 percent
Prohibited contents	Any animal products, except a limited amount of dairy products, below the limit that would cause a problem for a person with lactose intolerance Lactose intolerance Lactose intolerance, also called lactase deficiency or hypolactasia, is the inability to digest and metabolize lactose, a sugar found in milk... .
Infant component	All rations contain a fruit paste, or pudding, suitable for feeding to infants
Utensils'	All rations contain a spoon and a paper towel moistened with a non-toxic, non-alcoholic cleanser

American Humanitarian Daily Ration program in Afghanistan

On October 15, 2001, The United States announced a Humanitarian daily ration for Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

.

On October 24, 2001 Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 John Stufflebeem announced fears that the Taliban planned to poison American food aid.
Stufflebeem said that since the program had been started on October 7, 2001 the USA had dropped 785,000 rations.

External links

• HDR factsheet by the Defense Logistics Agency
  Defense Logistics Agency
  The Defense Logistics Agency is an agency in the United States Department of Defense, with more than 26,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world...
  
  
• A list of menus