I used to work as an emergency medical technician (EMT) for the Boy Scouts. In this capacity, I traveled to numerous remote locations to provide scouts, their leaders, and camp staff with medical care and survival supplies.
We required the Scouts to carry emergency supplies whenever they were away from the base camp for more than two days. Freeze-dried food was one of the items on this supply list in addition to the usual camping food rations.
Since freeze-dried food has a long shelf life, it can be used on multiple trips, is typically affordable, and comes in a variety of meal options. For each 48-hour period they were to be gone, the groups were required to carry one freeze-dried meal per person. There were a few reasons why this essential supply of food for survival was made.
When packing for a trip to a remote area, the weight that will be carried is the first thing to think about. It ensured sufficient food for survival while limiting the added weight by requiring one emergency food ration every 48 hours.
The second reason this was done was so that the search team could rest assured that food would be available for the first 48 hours of the search in the event that the group got lost. A lost scout group can typically be found in less than 48 hours, and knowing that they have an extra supply of camping food alleviates the stress of those searching for them.
In the event of an emergency, it is very helpful for all groups that go camping, hiking, or traveling in the wilderness to carry a sufficient supply of survival food, like nutrition bars and freeze-dried food. Most importantly, freeze-dried foods retain all of their vitamins and nutrients, which is crucial for survival in an emergency.