Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 28, 1994 TAG: 9409280033
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOY WHITMORE SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: FORT LEE LENGTH: Medium
The Right Away Foods plant runs like a well-oiled machine. Automation is combined with jobs that just can't be done without the human resource. An average of 250 employees make up the job force. During Desert Storm, employee figures jumped to more than 600 to turn out the MREs needed for that effort. The impact of the deployment in Haiti remains to be seen.
On a daily basis the employees at Right Away Foods work beneath a huge American flag, a constant reminder of the soldier who will one day eat the MRE prepared and assembled in McAllen.
Located approximately seven miles from the Mexican border, this town of more than 60,000 people is the fourth fastest growing city in the United States and has been home to Right Away Foods since the late 1970s. Beginning with MRE #1 in 1979, Right Away Foods currently is working on MRE #14.
Not only has the MRE changed over the years like the variety of entrees, more ounces to an entree, variety in the accessories packet, to name a few, but the purpose of the MRE has expanded.
It's still the basic meal for the forward deployed soldier on the battlefield. But today, our soldiers find themselves involved in operations other than war and are asked to supply subsistence for people other than soldiers.
Hence, the Humanitarian Daily Ration was introduced last year in its bright yellow package and is similar in design to the standard brown package. Right Away Foods, a government contracted facility, completely developed the vegetarian HDR from the entree to the bread.
This 2,300-calorie meal designed for distribution to people throughout the world is used for those who need assistance from the United States. The package even bears an American flag and reads "Food Gift from the people of the United States of America."
Not only does Right Away Foods produce the HDR but they currently provide two thirds of all MREs for the Department of Defense.
So, if you want an oatmeal cookie, you can get it in the menu #4 MRE. Right Away foods takes a commercial cookie, grinds it, and compresses it into a shortbread-like bar. It tastes buttery with a definite oatmeal flavor and even has oatmeal bits that get stuck in your teeth.
Other new additions to the MRE include potato sticks and a chow mein entree. The chow mein noodle operation starts with one ounce of noodles dropping at a constant rate from an automatic filler onto a conveyor belt where they are individually packaged.
Pressure vessels heat applesauce to more than 195 degrees before filling into four and a half ounce pouches, then cooled for cartoning. Chow mein and applesauce are "hot" items with the soldiers..
Assemblers add Lucky Charms, salt and pepper, drink base and other accessories to this MRE. (Don't forget the oatmeal cookie!) It all fits neatly in a heavy duty brown package. Twelve different brown packages fit into a sturdy cardboard box to make a case. Forty-eight boun cases are stacked on a pallet and shipped at the rate of about l2,OOO cases a day.
So, what can you look forward to in next year's MREs? Peanuts.
by CNB