Emergency ration

Emergency rations, also known as ration cubes, combat rations, or field rations, are food supplements typically used when food slots, replicators and/or conventional food supplies are unavailable.

After Malcolm Reed and Charles Tucker's shuttlepod 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. 

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 days. Ration packs contained additional condiments such as salt, pepper and bottles of water. 

When the USS Voyager was sent to 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 cultures, such as the T'Lani and Kellerun rations Dr. 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 crashed on a planet in 2373, Quark and Odo had to survive on rations as the replicators were offline and the local plants were poisonous. 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 weeks. 

In an alternate timeline Starfleet served meals called TKLs, a form of ration.

The crew of the USS Voyager was forced to go to emergency rations in another alternate timeline after numerous Krenim attacks had damaged the power relays, taking the replicator system off-line.

In 2375, Maxwell Burke claimed that the USS Equinox crew had been eating emergency rations for two years.