‘Alone’ Contestants Could Bring Food Rations; Here’s Why Most Don’t Bother

Whether you are a seasoned Alone viewer or a newbie to The History Channel franchise, you might be wondering about the food situation in the reality TV show. Each season the producers drop 10 individuals in the wilderness to fend for themselves for as long as possible. They must find a way to survive without connection to each other or the outside world. 

The person who lasts the longest wins the grand prize — $500,000 cash. Along the way, the medical team evacuates many participants due to a low BMI from starvation. So, it seems that food is a valuable item to bring along. Some contestants bring food rations, but many others don’t — here’s why.

The ‘Alone’ rules dictate what food items contestants could bring

Before the Alone producers drop participants into their territory in the wilderness, each person must choose 10 special items to bring with them. According to The History Channel, only two items may be food. In addition, they may only select from the following items: two lbs of beef jerky, 2 pounds of dried pulses/legumes/lentils mix, two lbs of biltong, two lbs of hardtack military biscuits, 2 lbs of chocolate, 2 lbs of pemmican, 2 lbs of GORP, 2 lbs of flour or ⅔ lbs rice/ ⅔ lb sugar/ ⅔ lb salt.

Many of these items could provide valuable nutrients for survivalists in the wilderness. Why are they often left off the list for competitors’ choices?

The small amount of food is not comparable to the other survival tools in ‘Alone’

Since Alone contestants can bring a limited number of special items, many survivalists feel that the other tools are more valuable than the food. Seven of the nine winners did not choose food rations as one of their 10 items.

The Alone Season 9 winner, Juan Pablo Quiñonez, did not bring any food rations as one of his 10 items. Instead, participants’ most common items were an ax, a sleeping bag, a bow and arrows, a fishing line and hooks, a Ferro rod, a paracord, a 2-quart pot, a trapping wire, a multitool, and a saw. If a contestant chose to bring a food ration, they would have to leave one of those other valuable items behind.

Ultimately, it is up to the contestants. Many survivalists feel that the other items are more important than food in helping them hunt and find food in the wilderness. The food rations could be used up quickly and not help the participants find more food like many other more valuable items.

Half of the ‘Alone’ Season 9 participants brought a food item

In Alone Season 9, five of the 10 participants chose to bring a food item. Benji Hill and Jessie Krebs decided to bring salt. Karie Lee Knoke, Jacques Turcotte, and Teimojin Tan chose emergency rations as one of their 10 special items. Benji, Jacques, Karie, and Teimojin all opted to leave out the saw. However, Jessie brought salt instead of a fishing line and hooks. 

In Alone season 8, only four contestants — Jordan Bell, Matt Corradino, Theresa Emmerich Kamper, and Tim Madsen — brought a food ration. However, the other six participants chose not to bring any food items.

In Alone season 7, only one participant, Amós Rodriguez, brought an emergency food ration. However, in season 6, half of the survivalists brought a food item. Donny Dust, Nathan Donnelly, Woniya Thibeault, and Michelle Wohlberg brought an emergency ration. Brady Nicholls brought two emergency rations, taking up two of his 10 special items in season 6.

Alone Season 9 is available for streaming on The History Channel app with a cable TV or streaming subscription.