K-ration Crate

St. Lo Collection, 1994.001.0500.6

The K-ration was initially designed as an individual emergency ration that could provide a soldier with 800-1,200 calories per day. The meal was very sparse and only contained a small can of meat or cheese, crackers, hard candies, cigarettes, and instant coffee or lemon juice powder. The Army never intended the K-ration for long term consumption. At the front, however, the K-ration was all that was available for weeks on end; for this reason the K-ration was universally disliked by the front-line GI.