Another consideration is the HDR - the Humanitarian Daily Ration. 2200 calories, 3-year shelf life, but no meat. I've had some and they're surprisingly edible.
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I posted about this elsewhere, but I bought a handful of HDRs out of a mixture of autism, curiosity and enjoyment of MRE Steve.
Disclosure of reviewer bias:
I love lentils, and I won the lentil lottery for my entrees. They were really good almost-curry stews, not spicy but not bland, either. Delicate, balanced spice blends, and if I were better at food criticism I'd probably have the skillset to be trying to replicate that in my own Crock-Pot. If you could buy just the entrees from Humanitarian Daily Rations, I'd be into it; they were better than shelf-stable dal pouches (e.g. TastyBite), and those are pretty good.
Other than the crackers and cookies, the desserts/pastries were US individual commercial foods vacuum-sealed in foil. I found actual Pop-Tarts and squished Fig Newtons. Another reason I'd like to just buy the entrees, but OTOH it isn't hard to find someone who wants a Pop-Tart.
There are some aspects of the HDR that might make them appealing for practical reasons, not just novelty.
They're nearly vegan, with the intention of avoiding religious dietary restrictions, but this would also be helpful if you're planning for people with allergies or lactose intolerance.
The HDR entrees are designed to be palatable without heating--it doesn't come with a heater for safety, stability and weight. You can eat anything cold if you're hungry, but there's something to be said for that little bit of comfort. Vegetarian stew or rice mix is also less offputting than congealed mystery meat to someone who's new to rations and not having a great day already because the power's out/they're snowed in/the bomb dropped. (And it's vegetarian in the sense of "time 4 beans," not in the sense of "expensive fake protein patties.")
You do get the sides, which are good to eat walking/spread through the day, and a sturdy spoon, but there aren't any drink mixes. This would be bad if you're counting on the package covering everything for the day, fiending for caffeine, or if you're hoping to cover the taste of decontaminated water. IMO it's better to have the calories in the food and be able to pick your own drinks, since powdered drink mixes are pretty light and stable, and everyone has coffee/energy drink preferences.
