ABOUT US
Backpacker's Pantry is a family owned and operated business dedicated to exploring and preserving our natural environment. As a result, a portion of every sale is given to organizations dedicated to preserving our planet for future generations. We are located in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies in Boulder Colorado. The Company was founded in 1951 by Ann Benedict in order to supply Girl Scouts lightweight nutritious meals for their outdoor backpacking experiences. The company was purchased in 1971 by the Smith Family and moved from South Central Los Angeles to Redding California. In 1992 the company purchased land and built our current facility in Boulder.
As outdoor enthusiasts participating in an array of activities we at Backpacker's Pantry understand the need to pack light and eat well. We are dedicated to creating dishes that satisfy not only your palate but your nutritional needs as well. Preparing our products using both the freeze drying and dehydration methods not only reduces the weight and prolongs shelf life, but also locks in all of the nutrients needed to keep an active body fueled and ready for the next adventure. In addition, we go the extra distance to ensure your safety by subjecting all of our meat products to a daily inspection process performed by a USDA inspector.
See below for information regarding Returns, Shipping, Ordering, Privacy, Allergens & other Frequently Asked Questions.
Return Policy
You may return non-food items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We’ll also pay the return shipping cost if the return is a result of our error. Please note that we are unable to exchange items. If you receive a damaged, defective, or incorrect item, please call us at: 800-641-0500.
Please note, we cannot accept returns on certain items, including:
- ANY FOOD ITEM.
- Any product missing the serial number or UPC.
In addition, we will only issue partial refunds for the return of certain items, including:
- Any item that is returned more than 30 days after delivery.
- Any Item that is not in its original condition: damaged or missing parts.
PLEASE CONTACT US AT: 800.641.0500 or info@backpackerspantry.com BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO RETURN ANYTHING.
Shipping Policy
All items are shipped from our facility in Boulder, Colorado. Transit times vary depending upon geography and shipping method. YOU MUST ALLOW AMPLE TIME FOR FOOD ORDERS TO ARRIVE BASED ON THE GUIDELINES LISTED BELOW. Contact us at 800-641-0500 or info@backpackerspantry.com with any questions.
PROCESSING: Allow 3-5 days for processing. Keep in mind: orders shipped during our busy season (May through August) may take up to an extra week.
SHIPPING: After processing please allow:
- 2-7 days for UPS GROUND depending on where you are in the country
- 2 days for UPS 2-Day plus weekend if applicable
- 1 day for UPS Overnight plus weekend if applicable
- Please note: UPS cannot ship to a PO Box. If you're shipping to a PO Box, your only shipping option is US Postal Service and your order will automatically ship U.S. Priority Mail.
- If you'd like to ship your item via U.S. Postal Service, please contact us before placing your order.
- If your order is shipping to a PO Box, US Priority Mail Service can take up to 7 days.
- Please call or email us regarding any special circumstances or with any shipping questions: info@backpackerspantry.com or 800-641-0500.
- FREE Pick-up option for Boulder/Denver area residents. If you're interested in picking up your order from our warehouse, please contact us at: 800.641.0500.
We currently DO NOT ship web orders outside the United States. For inquires about international shipments please email us at: info@backpackerspantry.com .
Order Policy
Orders are typically processed within 3 to 5 business days.
For special circumstances please call us at: 800-641-0500. A customer service representative would be glad to assist you. (Please note: an additional handling fee may be applied to expedited orders).
Allergen Statement
PLEASE NOTE: WE PROCESS FOODS WITH PEANUTS AND TREE NUTS AT THIS FACILITY. THEREFORE ALL FOOD ITEMS MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF PEANUTS OR TREE NUTS. Detailed nutrition and allergen information is available for all of our products. ORDER CAREFULLY AS WE DO NOT ACCEPT RETURNS ON FOOD ITEMS!
Frequently Asked Questions
Backpacking Food
We use both freeze-dried and dehydrated ingredients, which reduce weight and prolong the shelf life of meals. Shelf life varies from 1.5 to 3 years depending on the product. The freeze–drying and dehydrating technology we use also locks all of the nutrients in our foods. Our new 100% Organic offerings are certified by the USDA, demonstrating our continued effort to provide the highest quality food while promoting sustainability. Our products contain no dyes, no artificial colors, and no MSG.
MSG (Monosodium glutamate) is a common food additive, which has no taste by itself. MSG is designed to enhance taste by artificially stimulating taste receptors. We don't use any – anywhere .
Food Safety
We go above and beyond to ensure the safety of our food by subjecting all of our meat and chicken products to a daily inspection process by the USDA. Our facilities received an “Excellent” rating by The American Institute of Baking (AIB), an independent inspector committed to protecting the safety of the food supply. We do not recommend our products for long–term food storage, but they can be stored in a cool, dark place until the next adventure.
Packaging
Our revolutionary packaging design allows Backpacker’s Pantry customers to cook and eat many of the meals directly in the bag, reducing spills and keeping out pesky insects and the occasional dust storm. The gusset bottom pouch acts as a combination pot and bowl – just add boiling water, stir, let it sit for the instructed time, and enjoy! A zip–lock top keeps the heat in, and, when finished, we encourage customers to use the pouch to carry out trash. Our serving sizes are 20–30% larger than the competition, giving outdoor enthusiasts more of the nutrients they need to keep moving.
PACK IT OUT!
Our foil pouches won’t burn, however they make perfect mini waste bags. Please pack them out along with everything else you take out of the backcountry. We feel strongly that the outdoor experience is a vital part of life to be respected and cherished. A portion of every sale is given to organizations dedicated to preserving our planet for future generations. Complete meals generate less waste by providing customers with all the food they need in very little packaging. Our packaging urges customers to use meal pouches to pack out all the trash they generate, supporting the mission of Leave No Trace.
As part of our ongoing mission to “Go Green or Go Home”, we will strive to use 25% less energy in our processes, improving on our 2008 consumption. We trimmed our most–used package design down by 9%, and our 2009 menu, 19 pages shorter than the 2008 version, is printed locally on 100% post–consumer paper using soy–based inks. We love the backcountry and we strive to do our part to preserve natural landscapes.
Preparation
Cooking our food requires the addition of water. Be certain of your water needs before you leave for your adventure. In addition to a supply of drinking and washing water you will need an average of 5–6 cups of water, per person, per day, for three complete meals. Our cooking instructions are established at an elevation of 5,344 feet in our Boulder, Colorado kitchen. Changes in elevation will affect total cooking time, as much as doubling it with every 5,000 feet gained.
Privacy Policy
Our Commitment to Privacy
Our Privacy Policy was developed as an extension of our commitment to combine the highest-quality products and services with the highest level of integrity in dealing with our customers and partners. The Policy is designed to assist you in understanding how we collect, use and safeguard the personal information you provide to us and to assist you in making informed decisions when using our site and our products and services. This statement will be continuously assessed against new technologies, business practices and our customers’ needs.
What Information Do We Collect?
When you visit our Web site you may provide us with two types of information: the personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and Web site use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our Web site.
1. Personal Information You Choose to Provide
Credit Card Information
If you choose to purchase products or services from us or our partners, you may need to give personal information and authorization to obtain information from various credit services. For example, you may need to provide the following information:
- Name
- Mailing address
- Email address
- Credit card number
- Home and business phone number
- Other personal information
Email Information
In addition to providing the foregoing information to our partners, if you choose to correspond further with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received by mail and telephone.
2. Web Site Use Information
Similar to other commercial Web sites, our Web site utilizes a standard technology called "cookies" (see explanation below, "What Are Cookies?") and Web server logs to collect information about how our Web site is used. Information gathered through cookies and Web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our Web site, and the Web sites visited just before and just after our Web site. This information is collected on an aggregate basis. None of this information is associated with you as an individual.
How Do We Use the Information That You Provide to Us?
Broadly speaking, we use personal information for purposes of administering our business activities, providing customer service and making available other products and services to our customers and prospective customers. Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our Web site, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable. The lists used to send you product and service offers are developed and managed under our traditional corporate standards designed to safeguard the security and privacy of our customers’ personal information. As a customer, you will be given the opportunity, at least once annually, to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are a feature of Web browser software that allows Web servers to recognize the computer used to access a Web site. Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored by a user’s Web browser on the user’s hard drive. Cookies can remember what information a user accesses on one Web page to simplify subsequent interactions with that Web site by the same user or to use the information to streamline the user’s transactions on related Web pages. This makes it easier for a user to move from Web page to Web page and to complete commercial transactions over the Internet. Cookies should make your online experience easier and more personalized.
How Do We Use Information We Collect from Cookies?
We use Web site browser software tools such as cookies and Web server logs to gather information about our Web site users’ browsing activities, in order to constantly improve our Web site and better serve our customers. This information assists us to design and arrange our Web pages in the most user-friendly manner and to continually improve our Web site to better meet the needs of our customers and prospective customers. Cookies help us collect important business and technical statistics. The information in the cookies lets us trace the paths followed by users to our Web site as they move from one page to another. Web server logs allow us to count how many people visit our Web site and evaluate our Web site’s visitor capacity. We do not use these technologies to capture your individual email address or any personally identifying information about you although they do permit us to send focused online banner advertisements or other such responses to you.
Sharing Information with Affiliates
We DO NOT share information.
Notice of New Services and Changes
Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our Web site, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable. As our customer, you will be given the opportunity to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers by clicking on a response box when you receive such an offer or by sending us an email request to: info@backpackerspantry.com.
How Do We Secure Information Transmissions?
When you send confidential personal credit card information to us on our Web site, a secure server software which we have licensed encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. The information is scrambled en route and decoded once it reaches our Web site. Other email that you may send to us may not be secure unless we advise you that security measures will be in place prior to your transmitting the information. For that reason, we ask that you do not send confidential information such as Social Security or account numbers to us through an unsecured email.
How Do We Protect Your Information?
Information Security: We utilize encryption/security software to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information we collect from unauthorized access or disclosure and accidental loss, alteration or destruction.
Valuation of Information Protection Practices: Periodically, our operations and business practices are reviewed for compliance with corporate policies and procedures governing the security, confidentiality and quality of our information.
Employee Access, Training and Expectations: Our corporate values, ethical standards, policies and practices are committed to the protection of customer information. In general, our business practices limit employee access to confidential information, and limit the use and disclosure of such information to authorized persons, processes and transactions.
How Can You Access and Correct Your Information?
You may request access to all your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain in our database by emailing us at: info@backpackerspantry.com .
Do We Disclose Information to Outside Parties?
We may provide aggregate information about our customers, sales, Web site traffic patterns and related Web site information to our affiliates or reputable third parties, but this information will not include personally identifying data, except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy.
What About Legally Compelled Disclosure of Information?
We may disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights.
What About Other Web Sites Linked to Our Web Site?
We are not responsible for the practices employed by Web sites linked to or from our Web site nor the information or content contained therein. Often links to other Web sites are provided solely as pointers to information on topics that may be useful to the users of our Web site.
