Ration packs, also called rations boxes, food packets, food rations, field rations, survival rations, or simply rations, provided food or essential nutrients when regular sources were unavailable.
When conventional food sources were limited or time for preparation was short, ration packs supplied food or vital nutrients. Contents might include ration bars, protein cubes, ration cubes, or nutrient paste. Recognizable foods like joppa stew and nuna jerky were also sometimes included.
The Galactic Empire considered field rations non-transferable Imperial property, with Code E-9-73A forbidding their distribution to civilians. One type of ration pack, used by the Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance, and New Republic, contained dehydrated ingredients that expanded rapidly into edible meals when mixed with water. On Jakku, the junk boss Unkar Plutt called the dehydrated veg-meat and polystarch packet "meat and bread," although the taste was questionable. In her survival guide, the scavenger Rey noted that Imperial rations had a longer shelf life than New Republic rations, but the latter generally tasted better.
On the farming moon of Raada in the Outer Rim, farmers converted personal produce allotments into ration packs for easier share management.
During her hiding from the Great Jedi Purge in 18 BBY, Ahsoka Tano briefly resided on Raada. Initially, she maintained a low profile by trading her repair skills for food rations, but she witnessed the arrival of Imperial forces. The Empire exploited Raada to cultivate plants for nutritional supplements for Imperial personnel in low gravity environments. This agriculture devastated the farmland that previously sustained Raada's population. Ahsoka advised her friends to accumulate ration packs and other necessities in a secure location, and she assisted in these efforts. The Empire's destruction of the soil, demanding work conditions, and restricted food supplies sparked the uprising of Raada's citizens.
In 4 BBY during the Galactic Civil War, the Empire doubled work quotas and reduced food rations on Ibaar, resulting in a famine. Under the command of Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus, an Imperial fleet blockaded the planet, preventing aid from reaching the starving inhabitants. After several unsuccessful attempts, Captain Hera Syndulla successfully breached the blockade using the Blade Wing prototype B-wing starfighter, clearing the path for the Spectres to airdrop food from the Ghost.
In 3 ABY, following the Battle of Hoth, Luke Skywalker temporarily left the Rebel Alliance to find Jedi Master Yoda on Dagobah. Skywalker brought ration boxes with him, and as he prepared to eat, Yoda approached. Yoda examined and sampled Skywalker's rations while testing Luke's patience and frustration.
Following the Battle of Jakku in 5 ABY, the planet's surface was covered with a graveyard of wrecked starships from both the Galactic Empire and the New Republic. The scattered supplies included ration packs, which Unkar Plutt divided into portions to control the local food supply. At Plutt's Concession Stand in Niima Outpost, portions were exchanged for spare parts salvaged by scavengers, like Rey.
In 34 ABY, Rey ate veg-meat and polystarch portion bread for dinner before encountering BB-8, a droid she rescued in the desert. When BB-8 accompanied her to the trading post, Plutt offered sixty portions for the droid. Though initially tempted, Rey refused the offer and only took what she was owed for her salvage.
Although not identified by name at the time, rations first appeared in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back as a box of food that Luke Skywalker began consuming before Yoda helped himself to some. The 2015 canon junior novelization The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi? identified Luke's supplies as a rations box. Similarly, the paperback novel Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, a 2017 update of the Star Wars Legends junior novelization, referred to this as a box of food rations.