Natick Army Labs, Massachusetts

A building on the grounds of the Natick Army Labs (Also known as the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center) is the Army's main research kitchen for developing food products for the armed services. It was here that the modern packaged individual military ration known as the MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) was developed, along with many other innovative food products that have found their way to consumer's shelves (the Army estimates that 25% of all food industry revenue is attributable to their innovations). Famous among these are processed cheese, restructured meats, dry cake mix, and freeze dried coffee. In addition to research into food and nutrition, The United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC), one of the many tenant units found on the base, conducts R&D in a number of other areas. Over 2,000 employees work on camouflage analysis, parachute design, rappelling equipment, the design of tents and other temporary structures, uniforms, deployable laundry machines, and more. At one facility, dual climatic simulation chambers test personnel and equipment in tropical and arctic conditions, complete with wind and rain. In 1993, the EPA declared portions of the 78-acre base a Superfund cleanup site, due to the contamination of its soil, ground and surface water, with various toxic substances. Remediation efforts are ongoing.