Emergency ration Emergency rations , also known as ration cubes , ration packs , combat rations , or field rations , were food supplements typically used when food slot s , replicator s and / or conventional food supplies were unavailable . There were different types of ration packs . Some contained full meals with condiments while other rations were more in the shape of a cookie and were more geared towards providing needed nutrients than aesthetic considerations . After Malcolm Reed and ' s was damaged by a microsingularity in 2151 , Reed found several ration packs that included veal marsala , Chilean sea bass , moo goo gai pan , and meatloaf with mashed potatoes . ( ) When forced to reside at the catwalk for several days in September 2152 , the crew placed ration packs as bets in card game s . ( ) In 2154 , ' s galley was in disarray due to the damage sustained in the Battle of Azati Prime , forcing the crew to rely on ration packs . ( ) After Trip Tucker repaired the galley , making it possible to cook proper food again , he planned to complain to the Quartermaster about their quality . ( ) " In 2263 of the alternate reality , the USS " Enterprise " " " ejected several Kelvin pods after the Battle of Altamid when the " Enterprise " was critically damaged . Each pod was equipped with a survival kit that contained an emergency nutrition ration . " ( " Star Trek Beyond " ) During the 2360s , while attending Starfleet Medical Academy , Julian Bashir designed a flavorful candy bar that was far superior in food value than Starfleet combat rations . ( ) Quantities of emergency rations were transferred to Deep Space 9 to keep it stocked until replicators and food supplies could be restored when the Federation took control of the station in 2369 . ( ) In the 2370s , standard Starfleet rations were a time - released formula of all the nutrients the body needs for three day s . ( ) Ration packs contained additional condiments such as salt , pepper and bottles of water . ( ) When the was lost in the Delta Quadrant , the crew used rations to conserve power . One day in 2371 , Kathryn Janeway had ration pack 5 while Chakotay had oatmeal from another pack . ( ) Chief Miles O ' Brien ' s many years of field duty gave him a certain appreciation for rations ; he commented on them as being " the miracle of science " when he was one of the crewmen remaining during the Bajoran Alliance for Global Unity ' s siege of Deep Space 9 in 2370 . He noted that field rations were one of the few things he missed about the Cardassian Wars . ( ) However , he disliked alien foods that were the ration provisions of non - Federation culture s , such as the T ' Lani and Kellerun rations Doctor Bashir found on T ' Lani III . ( ) When Major Kira and Gul Dukat searched Dozaria for survivors of the " Ravinok " in 2372 , they also had field rations . Dukat hadn ' t had some for a long time and assumed they hadn ' t become better since then ; Kira then told him they had actually become a little worse . ( ) After their runabout crash ed on a planet in 2373 , Quark and Odo had to survive on rations as the replicators were offline and the local plant s were poison ous . Unfortunately , several of the ration packs were also lost in the crash . Quark would later say that the rations were " crumbs " . ( ) In early 2374 , Benjamin Sisko and his crew were equipped with rations on a captured Jem ' Hadar attack ship . After Nog told O ' Brien they would have " plenty of field rations " , something which even O ' Brien thought would be a problem after eating them for three week s . ( ) " In an alternate timeline Starfleet served meals called TKLs , a form of ration . " ( ) " The crew of the was forced to go to emergency rations in another alternate timeline after numerous Krenim attacks had damaged the power relay s , taking the replicator system offline . " ( ) In 2375 , Maxwell Burke claimed that the crew had been eating emergency rations for two year s . ( )