Best Survival Food Kits For Emergency - Complete Reviews with Comparisons
The modern world that we live in has been incredibly advanced and convenient, but it is also very fragile. Recent events have shown that it really does not take a whole lot of disruption for things to go wrong and we could find ourselves in situations we’ve never even thought of before. This could be social unrest, political turmoil, economic collapse, public health crisis, natural disasters, and the list goes on. Depending on the severity, you may or may not have access to grocery stores and restaurants. Even if you grow and farm a lot of your own food, they may not be available after natural disaster events like earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding. Therefore, having survival food kits for emergency available at your disposal can be the difference between life and death. You may need more than just a few days until you can get a more stable sources of food. After all, they will buy you some time to keep you and your loved ones healthy and fueled, and also to keep yourself in good condition so you can defend and take good care of them
There are many survival food kits for emergency out there which can be difficult to choose from. I have been doing a lot of research to compare companies that sell dried and dehydrated food. This is why I will share my research with you to provide one complete guide. We will compare all the options out there before diving deeper into important criteria of what constitutes a quality survival food kit for those who’d like to customize their own. I hope you find it helpful.
Quick Navigation
- Mountain House
- Augason Farms
- SOS Food Labs
- Emergency Food Rations Case
- Wise Company Food Supply (ReadyWise)
- Survival Tab Food Rations
- Legacy Food Storage
- Northwest Fork
- Sustain Supply Co. Premium Emergency Survival Bag
- Nutristore
- My Patriot Supply
- Valley Food Storage
- Alpine Aire Foods
- Mother Earth Products
- Backpacker’s Pantry
- Survival Frog
- Emergency Essentials (beprepared.com)
- Peak Refuel
- NuManna
- Thrive Life
Survival Food Kits Companies/Brands
1. Mountain House
Founded in Oregon in 1969 and coming off its long history of producing emergency food supplies for the US Special Forces, Mountain House is the top brand to be considered when shopping for long-lasting emergency food. It has frequently been praised for its tastiness and easy-to-prepare advantages. All you really need to do is add water to the pouches, wait around 10 minutes, and the food is ready to serve. Yes, ideally you would want to use hot water, which makes them tastier, but it is not required as cold water would work just as well in provide essential nutrients to your traumatized body. And yes, pouring boiling water into the pouch will work. Also, when you are done eating, you can just throw away the same pouches you used to cook and eat. No cleanup is required as you won’t need any pots or pans.
The selections have expanded across all categories of meals: from breakfast, entrée, side, and dessert. They are available in pouches that make it easy to bag them in an emergency bug-out bag for your own dietary preference. Or they are also combined into several ready-to-go buckets. You can choose from a Breakfast Bucket with 30 breakfast servings, Classic Bucket with 24 servings, or Essential Bucket with 32 servings. Breakfast Bucket contains delicious breakfast selections of hash browns, scrambled eggs, crumbled porky patty, peppers and onions. Classic Bucket includes favorites like beef stew, beef stroganoff, granola with milk and blueberries, spaghetti with meat sauce, along with chicken fried rice while Essential Bucket comes with three protein and carbohydrate-rich main entrees — chili mac with beef and beans, rice and chicken in savory sauce, and spaghetti with meat marinara sauce.
These buckets are really the ideal setup for campers and RV families, but you don’t need to be living in RV, they can provide you with critical food nutrients anywhere during emergency situations.
Another thing that makes Mountain House products stand out is that they have a 30-year shelf life, ensuring both the quality and taste of the meals, which is more than what most other options offer out there. If you go with one of the above buckets, they come with a carrying handle that can be easily transported. The bucket itself is very durable, which won’t crack and expose the food pouch. The lid is also very secure so oxygen or animals won’t be able to get to the food pouches and spoil them. Some may complain the container is a bit bulky that you cannot put the whole thing in your bug-out bag. Another downside is the lack of actual meat in these buckets as most pouches are meat-flavored rice and pasta, which provides people taste of meat without actually using one.
With convenience, tastiness, quality, and long shelf-life on its side, really the major visible con for Mountain House is that it is quite pricey. So if you are on a tight budget, this may not be your choice. Otherwise, it is without a doubt a versatile survival food kit for anyone who wants tasty and high-quality meals.
Pros:
- Long shelf life: The company suggests a taste and shelf life guarantee of 30 years
- Supply calculator: You can find the food supply calculator from the website to calculate how much food to get for the numbers of days and people you need
- Quality packaging: secure packaging to transport, storage, and prevent tampering
- Easy to store at home or in a vehicle
- Variety of food options: include all meal options for breakfast, entrée, sides, dessert
- Variety of sizes: You can choose from individual pouches, Pro-Packs, #10 Cans, Emergency Preparedness Kits and Buckets
- Food tastes great: Hard for survival food to taste good, but this one actually does
- Simple and easy to prepare: Just need to add water and wait for 10 mins and your food is ready
- Minimal waste: your serving comes in individual pouches for you to prepare, eat, and discard without needing any other pot or cooking devices. In addition, pouches are resealable, so you won’t be wasting any food
- Accessibility: Mountain House products are actually available in Amazon, as well as many other retailers such as Walmart, Dicks, and Academy Sports.
Cons:
- Pricey: All the great quality it brings comes at the expense of price, but they are for sure worthy every cent you pay
- Bulky: Hard to fit the can or bucket in a bug-out bag
- No water-measuring device: It does not provide a device nor indicate inside pouches how much water to add. You need to use your own judgment
- Can opener: You will need a can opener for #10 Can
- No meat or meat substitute in food packets
- Won’t taste good using cold water: You can most certainly eat with cold water but it just won’t taste as good
- Not too many gluten-free choices: Some but not many
- Calorie counts are hidden
- Plastic buckets are labeled vaguely
- Not vegetarian-friendly
2. Augason Farms
Founded in 1972, Augason Farms products are available in Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club. It is found to be the most cost-effective choice for long-term storage of food supplies in the event of an emergency. If you are looking for sustaining and good tasting emergency food supplies, Augason Farms is a great place to start. It produces emergency food supply kits that can sustain you as short as 72 hours up to as along as a year. Most importantly, Augason Farms products meet the Quality Survival Standard (QSS), which requires a minimum of 1800 calories and 40 grams of protein per day.
One of the most popular Augason Farms products is the 30-Day Emergency Food Storage Supply. This kit stuffs 29 pounds of food into an 8.5-gal Pail. It includes 307 servings and approximately 55,000 calories. This is enough to sustain one person for 30 days or 4 people for 7 days at 1,800 calories per day per person. Keep in mind that this is a fairly big survival food kit for emergency with enough food to last some time. To prepare, you may need a cooking stove to boil water, add ingredients, and continue cooking for about 15-18 minutes. It should be noted that there are 35 packets in the container, and they aren’t resealable. Once you open a packet, it can last you a couple of weeks, otherwise they should have a 20-year shelf life.
The 30-Day Emergency Food Storage Supply comes with meal options such as instant potatoes, creamy potato soup, macaroni and cheese, creamy chicken rice, banana chips, hearty veggie chicken soup, cheesy broccoli rice, maple brown sugar oatmeal, milk alternatives, and more. All these selections are high in calories, but not sure they can provide you with much vitamins.
Another bucket that may also interest you is the Deluxe Emergency 30-day Food Supply Bucket with 200 servings and more than 37,000 calories inside. Because of the higher calorie in each serving, it is also expecting to sustain a single person for 30 days. One should expect to pay less than 50 cents per serving, making this the most cost-effective option for these many diversified recipes in the bucket. This bucket includes 12 different meal selections from chicken soups to cheesy broccoli, banana chips, and other delicious sweet desserts, which is why this bucket contains twice the calories compared to other similar survival food kits for emergency. Some complains about this bucket is that it lacks more salty options. The shelf life of this bucket is 25 years.
You may also purchase them in #10 Cans
Pros:
- Long shelf life: 20~25 years
- Free shipping: For 6 month and 1-year food supply kits. Believe me, free shipping isn’t a given
- More than enough calories: Higher calories per serving
- Variety of food selections: Breakfast, entrees, sides, desserts
- Variety of sizes: Supplies are available from 72-hours kit to 1-year kit. They got plenty of options
- Great for families and larger groups
- Superb value to product ratio: More cost effective I should say
- Pails are squared shape: Make them that much easier to stack
- Bundle deals: You can bundle #10 cans with bucket/pail in your shopping
- Availability: You can find them in Walmart, Costco, and Sam’s Clubs. They are quite assessible to general public
- Recipes: Recipes are provided on the #10 Can
- Soup and Drink Options: There are selections in #10 Cans with different drink and soup mixes such as Orange and Apple Delight Drink Mix and Southwest Chili Soup
- Other prepper gears: There are other helpful survival gears available such as Fire Starter Kit, Hand Wheat Grind, and Candles etc.
Cons:
- Bulky: Only suitable for shelters, not bug-out bags
- Cooking stove required: You can’t simply add water to eat
- Too many sweet recipes: High calorie is their focus, but some people prefer more healthy survival foods
- Banana chips only last 10 years
- Foods aren’t super tasty
- Need large amount of water to hydrate: Food will make you thirsty
- No free samples: They don’t offer free samples to try out
- Lack of meat: there don’t seem to be enough meat as reported by some people
- Pouches not resealable: More likely to be wasteful
- Bucket lid opener: Not included with the pail
3. SOS Food Labs
SOS Food Labs specializes in making survival food kits for emergency with high calories to sustain you while also being able to fit them nicely inside a backpack. While lots of preppers strive to be well-equipped for emergency situations, these situations are called “emergency” for a reason. You may be caught off guard and not have time to take all your preparation or they may simply be gone or damaged in the event of a disaster. When you want to keep things as simple as possible and don’t want the bag to be a burden, S.O.S Rations Emergency Kit is a great product. For those who aren’t familiar, S.O.S Rations is among the best companies when it comes to providing great value kits at an affordable price. While it is true that this kit can last a single person for approximately one week at most, nobody is really stopping you from getting multiples of them.
The S.O.S Rations Emergency Food Kit is really designed for survival situations as it even comes with 12 servings of purified water, something you don’t see with other survival food kits for emergency. It contains 9 energy bars, each with 400 calories, for a total of 3600 calories. They come in different fruit flavors such as blueberry, raspberry, coconut, lemon, orange, cherry, and more. So, if you take one energy bar per meal (as per minimum calorie requirement for your body), it can last a single person for 3 days. And surprisingly, the bars actually tastes good. Perhaps as studies suggest, being able to eat something delicious in a survival situation can provide both physical and emotional boost, which may in turn becoming the deciding factor whether you make it out or not. Keep in mind that these food bars aren’t the typical cheap energy bars that provoke thirst, they are in fact made with non-thirst inducing formula to get you going under water restriction. As I mentioned, the Emergency Kit also comes with 12 servings of purified survival water, which is important because safe drinking water can be crucial and hard to find especially during emergency situations.
One should point out that the food pouches are designed to withstand all kinds of weather and they will be good for 5 years. Although 5 years may not seem like a long time, they should give you a peace of mind that even the extreme heat or cold won’t spoil them.
Pros:
- Food can stand up to extreme temperatures or weather
- Healthy and tasty
- Won’t provoke thirst
- Have purified water
- Include a survival guide
- Simple and efficient
- Won’t take up a lot of space
- No cooking or heating in needed
- Designed for extreme life-saving situation
Cons:
- Does not include first aid kit
- No stove
- Relatively short shelf life: 5 years
- Not much food: may last a single person for one week if stretched out
4. Emergency Food Rations Case
Another simple yet efficient kit designed for a group of family and friends is the Emergency Food Rations Case. Unlike other products, this kit keeps it simple as it only includes high-calorie ration bars. The kit has 10 rations and each ration contains anywhere between 6 to 9 bars. Although you may think that “bars” aren’t full meal, each bar contains 400 calories. All the bars are lemon-vanilla favored and kosher friendly, which is important to people on special diets.
Comparing to S.O.S Rations Emergency Kit, this one is intended to last a single person for up to 1 whole month. If stretched and rationed properly, it can probably last a family of 3 for up to 3 weeks. Keep in mind that there is absolutely no flavor selection involved as the whole case comes with a single flavor, and the taste isn’t the greatest, but they will keep you breathing as the bars are packed with all the nutrients and vitamins you need.
Similar to S.O.S Rations Emergency Kit, Emergency Food Rations Case has a shelf life of 5 years, which isn’t the longest, but these bars can withstand a temperature of -40° F to 300°F (-40°C to 149°C). Another bonus is that you don’t need to cook or heat thing up. You don’t even need water to prepare it. It comes ready to go.
The kit also does not come with water or first aid accessories. After all, it is not designed to be an all-in-one survival kit, but rather as an excellent add-on to your existing preparation
Pros:
- Lots of nutrients and vitamins
- Can sustain a family of 3 for 3 weeks
- No cooking or heating is needed
- Food can withstand extreme temperature conditions
- Will not provoke thirst
Cons:
- Relatively short shelf life: 5 years
- Only contain energy bars
- Single flavor
- Not super tasty
5. Wise Company Food Supply
Wise Company (ReadyWise) is a well-known brand that is seen as the leaders by hunting, camping, and hiking enthusiasts. They are dedicated to creating good-tasting food for wide population. They make their meals from dehydrated and freeze-dried components entirely produced in USA. The selections, taste, and overall quality of their foods can help you organize whether you are on a camping trip, trying to stay alive in an emergency, or simply rotating through your food storage.
They have a wide variety options for survival and emergency food supply. First, there is the Emergency Food Supply Bucket with 120 entrée servings. These buckets are one of the most flavor-rich and delicious available in the market so they will probably come at a slightly higher price per serving compared to other brands. For these, you can expect to pay about $2 per serving. The bucket comes with an unbelievable amount of diversity for a total of 120 servings with the selections as follows:
- Southwest beans and rice
- Creamy pasta
- Chicken noodle soups
- Cheesy lasagna
- Chili mac
- Tomato basil soups
- Heart tortilla soup
- Potato and chicken pot pie
They also have organic and gluten-free options for those with special food needs. Basically if you want to enjoy delicious and healthy food during a natural disaster or other types of emergency, this bucket can be ideal for you. All packages inside have a shelf life of up to 25 years. There are only 3 things you need to cook one of these meals: water, a heat source, and a single pot. Of course if you are a prepper and you want to prepare for extended emergency, there are also the 6-bucket (720 servings) option as well as the 12-bucket (1440 servings) option available for cheaper unit price.
One small downside of these meals is that they aren’t super rich in calorie so if you are in a dire survival situation where every calorie matters, then these meals may not be the most calorie-efficient.
If you are a backpacker or nature enthusiast who enjoys to be out in the country for a short-term camping trip, there is also a Wise Food 5-Day Survival Backpack that will perfectly suit your needs. To a lot of people, food is the most critical component in any survival kit, therefore this survival backpack offers 32 servings of different meals which will be enough to cover 2 people for 5 days. The meals include breakfast dishes such as brown sugar and apple cinnamon cereals, as well as entrée dishes as such creamy pasta and rice and beans. There are also hearty tortilla soup and whey milk to keep you hydrated. Of course, this survival kit wouldn’t be completed without water, which is why it got 5 x 4oz refillable water pouches to go along with a stove and some fuel tablets. The kit designer also includes an emergency poncho, blankets, and even some playing cards to relieve your stress. Every single one of these items can provide some desperately needed physical or emotional boost in a survival situation. There are some complains that the backpack is not of top quality, but you probably also don’t want to bring your luxury backpack in a survival situation.
Overall here is a quick pros and cons summary of the survival food provided by Wise Company (ReadyWise):
Pros:
- Flavor-rich and tasty
- Good shelf life: 25 years
- Different packages suited for needs
- Gluten-free and organic options available
- Buckets are perfect for shelters
- Relatively easy to prepare
Cons:
- More expensive
- Limit accessibility: can purchase from Amazon but otherwise hard to find from local dealers
- Not super calorie-rich
- Lacking first aid kit
- Will still require a heating source and a pot
- Only offer in buckets, cannot purchase individual pouches
- Pouches: cannot be re-sealed so increase possibility for waste if they are used right away
6. Survival Tab Food Rations
The Survival Tab takes a very different approach to change the way we look at survival and emergency food supplies. While most other brands are focusing on diverse and flavor-rich meals, they are focusing on sweet tabs that are rich in calories and containing 15 essential vitamins and minerals your body needed to function. While those tabs may not be very diverse in the flavors, they are made with a high-quality protein that are GMO-free and gluten-free. The tabs are believed to be made by nutritionists with a formula to maximize the absorption rate of your body.
The most popular one is the 60-Day Emergency Food Ration. With this package, you get 4 bottles with 180 tabs each. There are 12 tabs per serving, that makes them 60 servings. Each tab provides about 20 calories, so if you consume 1 serving (12 tabs) a day, that is 240 calories. However, this package claims that this can last a single person for 60 days. That’s a bit of false advertising because I doubt any person can live with just 240 calories a day (provided your body needs to be able to absorb all of them without waste). Nevertheless, these tabs are good to be used as supplements to your existing food supplies because you are likely to become deficient in vitamins and minerals in a survival situation so these sweet tabs will make a great dessert or energy boost to help you get through the hardships.
If you prefer to purchase a smaller pack to carry them with you at all times as we never know when a disaster will hit, there is also the 8-Day Food Supply with 96 tabs. You could be driving in your car and get stuck in traffic because of an icy winter storm or a tornado could strike and keep you stranded in your basement for a week. Anything can happen in this crazy and bizarre world. It is better to be prepared and never needed than getting caught in a disaster without preparation.
Pros:
- Shelf life: 25 years
- Protein rich
- Vitamin and mineral rich
- High body absorption
- Decent taste
- GMO and gluten free
- Great supplements to other emergency food supplies
Cons:
- Not cheap for what’s worth
- No meals, just survival tabs
- Can’t really sustain a person by itself as advertised
7. Legacy Food Storage
Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Legacy Food Storage specializes in emergency supplies such as survival gears, water filtration, fuel, and survival food. For emergency food, they offer freeze-dried, vacuum-sealed food in buckets that can be easily stacked and stored to a shelf for 25 years.
You can purchase the single buckets, gluten-free, or bulk meal packages. I believe you can shop by food types (fruits, proteins, dairy, veggies, grains, and other specialty items). You may also shop by dish (breakfast, entrees, and sides) or serving size (from as small as the 16-serving packs to as big as the whopping 4320-serving bulk bundle (enough to last a person for 4 years). Here are some examples of the popular packages:
- 120-Serving Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Bucket: covers 2 people for two weeks at 1,500 calorie per day. This bucket will work even for vegetarians as they are designed to be a meatless foundation product with a very healthy, non-GMO, no high-fructose syrup with generous proportions and decent amounts of protein and fiber.
- 120-Serving Gluten-Free Survival Meals Bucket: 6 different gluten-free dehydrated/freeze dried survival meals with 346 calories per serving. 100% certified GMO free
- 120 Large Breakfast Serving Bucket: breakfast only
All their food is processed, packaged, and shipped within the United States. They have 100% free shipping policy and accept payment plan and group discounts. They guarantee lowest prices online and claim they will match any competitor’s online prices.
Pros:
- Variety of food types and serving options
- Shelf life: 25 years
- Low cost per pound
- Gluten-free option
- Non-GMO
- Vegetarian-friendly
- Free shipping
- Payment plan option
- Accept group discounts
- Lowest price guaranteed
- Nutrition facts on pouches
Cons:
- No free samples to test out before purchase
- Website always busy
- Can’t prepare meal directly out of pouches
- Most pouches aren’t resealable
8. Northwest Fork
Northwest Fork takes an unique approach to survival food kits for emergency by making their meals kosher, non-GMO, and vegan while keeping them at an affordable price.
The most popular option has been the Northwest Fork Gluten-Free 30-Day Emergency Food Supply. It has 6 bags and each contains 15 pouches (servings). One pouch is for one meal, so each bag will sustain you for 5 days. The kit is designed to sustain a single person for 30 days (or a family of 4 for approximately 8 days). The bags are resealable, so food can be kept good for 2 months after opening. The package uses Mylar Bags with oxygen absorbers to prevent degradation leading to a shelf life of 10 years. And just as advertised, it does not contain any meat, animal-based products, dairy, nuts, and is totally kosher. While these are great for some people, you may not be a huge fan of it if you don’t have any eating restrictions. Nevertheless, the food tastes great.
If you want to make sure that the ingredients are healthy and fresh, this will be a good option to go with because everything is packed once you place your order to ensure maximum freshness. In Northwest Fork Gluten-Free 30-Day Emergency Food Supply, you get foods such as strawberry banana oatmeal, tropical triple trio oatmeal, pinto bean stew, green pea soup, black bean chipotle stew, and black bean stew. As you see, there are lots of stews and soups here, which is great you like soup, but not much else. All you need to do to prepare meals is to add water (the hotter the better). After all, if you need emergency food and have dietary restrictions, this will be a good choice for you.
Pros:
- Ideal for people with dietary restrictions
- Easy to prepare meals
- Foods are packed after orders placed to ensure freshness
- Gluten-free
- Non-GMO
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Kosher
- Nut-free
Cons:
- Not designed for people without eating restrictions
- Mediocre Shelf life: 10 years
- Higher than average price
9. Sustain Supply Co. Premium Emergency Survival Bag
If you are looking for an all-in-one product that will cover your essential needs during an emergency/survival situation, then this Premium Emergency Survival Bag by Sustain Supply Co. can be an excellent choice. Instead of providing you with just food-based emergency products, this package gives all the necessary tools and features a survivalist can ever dream of to increase the odds of your survival in or out of your house.
The bag contains all the essentials to sustain 2 people for full 72 hours after a disaster strike. It contains:
- 12 Mountain House servings
- Two Aqua Literz refillable water carton bottles
- Two water filtration straws
- One lantern
- Four snap lights
- One flashlight
- One first aid kit
- Bath wipes
- Blankets
- One knife
- Bowls
- Utensils
- A portable stove
- Fire starter and tinder
The 12 meals are Mountain House servings with mainly rice and chicken which perfectly balance the protein and carbohydrate needs in a survival scenario. In addition to the water to keep you hydrated, all the important survival gears (such as knife, bowls, utensils, lantern, and flashlights) are also included to give you peace of mind.
Although the package claims to only provide short-term support for two people for around 3 days, it actually does its best to make sure you can last a while longer even after you run out its core food and water. You have a portable stove, fire starter, and tinder to go along with quite a few light options. It may be slightly more expensive than other emergency food supplies, and of course it will be nicer that it can include a pack of matches as well as a battery charger. But considering all the things it already includes, it undoubtedly has great value for its price. For an even better deal, one may also want to look at the 4-person backpack option.
Pros:
- Mountain House meals
- A thoughtful package with necessary gears
- Lantern and flashlights
- Stove, fire starter, and tinder
- First aid kit
Cons:
- Not cheap
- Lack matches
- Lack battery charger
- Backpack itself not great quality
- Food can only last 3 days
10. Nutristore
If you are a vegetarian or if you eat very healthy, then the Nutristore Vegetable Sample Pack may be the absolute right fit for you. It emphasizes on providing nutritional freeze-dried vegetable emergency food products sourced from the best suppliers to ensure highest quality. This sample pack offers 3 gallon-size #10 cans of healthy and tasty freeze-dried vegetables and fruits, including selections such as corn, carrots, potatoes, bananas, broccoli, strawberries, raspberries, pinapples, Fuji apples, peaches, butternut squash, onions, green beans, and green peas. Each can provides about 40 servings for a total of 120 servings.
If you are a meat eater, there are also freeze-dried meat flavors, such as chicken, ground beef, beef dices, sausage crumbles. There are also dairy options such as cheddar cheese shredded, mozzarella cheese shredded, and powdered egg mix.
They are excellent for daily snacks, school lunches, ground into powder to make cookie, additions to your recipes, or even long-term survival storage for emergency situations. Each can has a 25-year shelf life. You would need a can opener, but once a can is opened, you can continue using the flexible, plastic, and reusable top to close off.
Pros:
- Versatile
- Good deals of vegetable flavors
- Healthy
- Not too expensive
- Low level of sodium
- Good Shelf life: 25 years
Cons:
- Not too many meat and dairy options
- Will probably require other survival food kits
- Need a can opener
11. My Patriot Supply
My Patriot Supply focuses on helping Americans prepare for emergencies by offering long-lasting survival food supplies. Not only does it stand out among long term (3 months and up to a year or more) food storage companies as they promise 2000+ calories in each meal with a variety of dietary needs, it also caters to markets for short-term (three days up to one month) emergency food as well as other self-reliance preparedness tools such as water filtration systems, heirloom seeds, and first aid kits.
A good kit to start is the Three-Month Emergency Food Supply. It comes in bucket that can easily be stacked and transported. There are 864 servings of sealed, zipper-top pouches of food. The meals put an emphasis on calories through carbohydrates with flavors such as mac and cheese, buttermilk pancakes, and creamy chicken flavored rice. They have a shelf life of 25 years.
For those with special dietary needs, they have gluten-free package as well as individual gluten-free meals for purchase. If you want to get a protein boost, they also have the protein kit which includes plenty of beans, 16 servings of beef, and 16 servings of chicken that can be combined with other dishes. They even offer coffee so you can see how thoughtful they are.
Here is a quick summary of pros and cons:
Pros:
- Made and packaged in USA
- Military discount: 10% discount for military personnel after you apply
- Good Shelf life: 25 years
- Size: different storage sizes ranging from individual pouches, cases, kits, buckets, ammo cans, and #10 cans available for purchase
- Coffee: very thoughtful that they offer coffee
- No refrigeration for #10 can: up to 1-year shelf life after opening
Cons:
- Big commitment: Hard to purchase small quantity. Need to spend some money to get your feet wet
- Does not include a backpack
- Preparation: can’t just pour water to Mylar pouches. Need to add meals to boiling water to boil them
12. Valley Food Storage
Valley Food Storage is a company aiming at preparing you for both short and long-term emergencies. Depending on your needs, they have a variety of kits and packages for you to choose from. General speaking, they have the Basic and Premium packages. Basic ones are intended to provide you about 800 calories a day while the Premium ones will give you around 1800 calories per day. The Basic ones may suit you if the emergencies are temporary and you just plan to hunker down without spending too much effort to ride out the storm. For long term survival or extended emergencies with no end in sight, the Premium packages can sustain and fuel you with plenty of calories for engaging in various activities to make out alive.
The food supplies they produced are without filler, MSG, and GMO ingredients. They also design some favorite selections for kids, such as cheddar potato soup, mac and cheese, fruits, and other worthy options. Be sure to include some of these if you have youngsters.
Pros:
- Healthy
- Accommodate for those with dietary restrictions
- Kids friendly
- Sturdy and waterproof bucket
Cons:
- Basic buckets may be inadequate for survival
- Won’t sell individual servings
13. Alpine Aire Foods
Alpine Aire Foods is another company you can look at for emergency preparation. They offer quite a bit of selections from breakfast to dessert you name it. There are also gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options available.
You can get them in smaller quantity and individual pouches at the expense of higher cost per meal. Each meal is designed to provide about 1200 calories per day and all you need to do is to add water. You can get the seven-day vegetarian meal kit that comes with two meal pouches a day for a week or you can purchase others that come in packages with just two servings and have a 5-year shelf life.
Pros:
- Healthy
- Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options available
- Easy to prepare: just add water
- Easy to pack
Cons:
- Higher cost per meal
- Mediocre shelf life: 5+ years
14. Mother Earth Products
Mother Earth Products also offers dehydrated and freeze-dried foods that can be useful whether you want to eat them as daily snacks, bring them on a camping trip, or store long-term for SHTF scenarios. They mainly focus on a great variety of vegetables, fruits, as well as vegetable proteins with no additives or preservatives. The food products have an extended shelf life of 25 years so that makes them great candidate for long-term emergency preparation. They don’t offer large bundle with compact packaging so that can take up some space if you purchase a lot individually but that’s also great for those who want to purchase some without huge financial commitment. One should be noted that some cooking is required to prepare these foods
Pros:
- Can purchase small quantity to mix and match according to needs
- Affordable overall
- Healthy without additives and preservatives
- Good for vegetarians
- Many snack options available
- Great shelf life: 25 years
Cons:
- Not for meat eater
- Take up quite some space if purchase in bulk
15. Backpacker's Pantry
If you are a backpacker who wants to include some tasty emergency food to your backpack, then you won’t be disappointed by what Backpacker’s Pantry has to offer. If you are a healthy vegetarian, you can choose from a wide variety of freeze-dried food selections such as Katmandu Curry, Pad Thai, Walnuts, Hot Blueberry, Oats and Quinoa cereal. If you are a meat lover, there are ready-to-go kit like Three-Day Carnivore Kit for Two People with plenty of unique meaty dishes such as Cincinnati Style Chili, Santa Fe Rice and Beam with Chicken, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy & Beef, Shepherd’s Potato Stew with Beef. There are also plenty of vegan and gluten-free options. You are certainly welcome to mix and match your own meals if you want.
Pros:
- Tasty flavors
- Options for special dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free)
- Options designed for meat and dairy lovers
Cons:
- Only sold in individual pouches
- Higher cost per meal
16. Survival Frog
Survival Frog carries food products from multiple brands like ReadyWise, Mountain House, Legacy Food Storage and integrate them into complete kits/packages. For example, they may mix and match Mountain House’s meal pouches with breakfast bucket from Legacy Food Storage. This is great as you won’t be stuck with food from one particular brand as different members of your household may prefer different brands over the others and you can get them all in one place.
Besides food supplies, you can also purchase just about any prepper stuff from them. They have all kinds of survival tools, communication equipment, first aid medical kits, energy sources, and even masks (PPE). Survival Frog really strives to be the one-for-all shop for survival. The major downside about their food supplies is the lack of options for special dietary needs, such as gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
Pros:
- Mix food products from multiple brands to give customers wide selections
- Really a one-for-all survival shops
- Carries survival tools and masks
Cons:
- No options for special dietary needs
- Price per meal may be more expensive
17. Emergency Essentials (beprepared.com)
Emergency Essentials also carries food products from multiple brands including Mountain House and Augason Farms. They are offered as ready-to-go food pails with options to stock up. Among these, you can pick the most appropriate combination of breakfast, lunch, and dinner package that fits your needs.
They also sell more premium bags such as Emergency Essentials Deluxe 72 Hour Food, Water & Gear Pack, that meets QSS standards for calories and protein intake.
Pros:
- Wide variety of popular emergency food brands
- Cans are rodent-proof
- Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options available
- Premium option that meets QSS standards for calorie and protein intake
Cons:
- Price per meal not cheap
- Different survival food brands may have different shelf life
18. Peak Refuel
Peak Refuel is an emergency food company that very much emphasizes food quality. They omit the use of any fillers and GMO ingredients. Even though the aim of the products may steer towards hiking and camping enthusiasts, they certainly also make a great candidate for adding to your emergency food supplies. However, just remember that the shelf-life is only 5 years, which is shorter compared other conventional brands because they are using many premium ingredients and they want to ensure you can benefit the most from them.
The major plus about their food products according to many reviewers is the taste. So while the shelf-life is only 5 years, there is no need to wait until after expiration date. Use them to treat yourself a nice meal in a hurry whether at your home on a busy working day or camping deep in the woods during a vacation. Another thing worth noting is that Peak Refuel meals use less water, which can be very critical in a survival scenario.
Pros:
- Very tasty
- Protein-rich meals
- Need less water compared to competitors
Cons:
- Limited shelf life: 5 years
- Sold in smaller quantity so higher cost per meal
19. NuManna
NuManna is a newer company that started in 2011. They focus on providing high-quality food products that are MSG and GMO free. What sets them apart from other emergency food companies is the variety of organic products they offered. They packed their products neatly with Mylar pouches in white buckets. Some popular examples of their packages include Family Packs, Defender Packs, Combo Packs, as well as Grab-n-Gos.
Pros:
- 60-day money back guarantee: you can give them a try
- Wide variety of flavors: lots of entrée choices
- Healthy: no MSG or GMOs, organic options available
- Good shelf life: 25 years
- Defender Packs: easy-to-prepare meals, organic grains, and “Super Ingredients”
- Packaging: ziplocked Mylar pouches in white buckets to ensure freshness
- Heirloom Seeds: 14 different kinds, including Organic Non-GMO Corns and Organic Peas and to start your garden at any time
Cons:
- Preparation: can’t prepare directly from Mylar pouches. Need to add meals to boiling water
- No free samples: Need to spend some initial money to try them out
20. Thrive Life
Thrive life takes a different approach compared to other long-term food storage companies by focusing on the ingredients rather than the meals. In other words, they provide the ingredients (such as vegetables, meats, fruit, dairy, grains, and cereals) along with their recipes. You can use their recipes or create your own. The freeze-dried vegetable choices they offer are among the best on the market so you can be sure you won’t be lacking essential nutrients in emergencies.
Pros:
- Freeze Dried Vegetables: large selections of freeze-dried vegetables such as broccoli, red bell peppers, kale, asparagus, zucchini, and many more are packed in #10 cans
- Freeze-Dried Pork: they have freeze-dried pork, something very few companies offer
- Recipes are available: recipes for their food ingredients are included
- Good shelf life: #10 cans have 25 years shelf life
Cons:
- Hard to stack: #10 hard to stack and store
- Not sold in bulk: shopping large amount may be tedious
- Does not sell other prepper supplies: they strictly focus in food
Survival Food Kits Buyer's Guide
Often the decision to purchase a survival food kit for emergency isn’t as simple as whether it is good or bad, it comes down to whether they suit your needs. So, before you spend money to buy any kinds of survival food kits, there are a few critical criteria to consider so that you can get the most out of your investment.
Total Servings
The first important thing to look at about a survival food kit for emergency is the number of total servings it includes. It helps to know how many people and what types of emergencies you are preparing for. The kits that prepare for being stuck in the traffic for a few hours is certainly very different from the kits that prepare for a large earthquake aftermath.
Most buckets have around 100-150 servings, which is designed to last a family of 4 for 10 days. One should keep in mind that a grown man needs approximately 2000 calories a day to survive long term but can probably get by on 1000 calories per day if emergency term is shorter.
Shelf Life
Perhaps the worst thing that can ever happen to an emergency situation is to find out the food supplies have gone bad, which is why shelf life is critical. Obviously, we do not know when the emergencies will hit (which is why they are called emergencies). The longer the kit stays good, the better prepared we are. However, you also do not want to waste them. It is important to take shelf life into consideration when you purchase food supplies.
Preparation
The main difference between eating survival food and enjoying a nice steak dinner at home is preparation. In an emergency situation, we are often caught off guard and probably don’t have time and necessary tools to cook the way we would normally. For example, you may experience a power outage or get stranded somewhere without your cooking utensils. This is why most survival food kits for emergency have relatively simple preparation procedures. A lot of them require that you just add water to meal pouches while others may need a basic heating source. There are also ones that don’t require anything else but for you to eat them (such as Survival Tab, Emergency Food Rations Case). Sure, the ones requiring hot water tastes better but you may be in an emergency situation where there is no water or heating source. Therefore please consider different types of emergency scenarios when you purchase food supplies. If you are buying food supplies that require water and heating source, please be sure you’ll have access to water and heating sources during your emergencies.
Meal Variety and Taste
Imagine your feeling in a scenario where your car breaks down in the middle of a snow storm and somebody offers you a hot coffee and a ride home. That is exactly why variety and taste is quite important when it comes to emergency food supplies. What would be a better emotional turning point in a survival situation when get to eat a hot and tasty meal? Not only does it provide for you physically, it also gives you a much-needed psychological boost. It gives the confidence and belief that you can make it.
Meal selections and flavors are also important. Imagine eating the same biscuit every breakfast and you will be sick of it in a few days. Just because you are in a survival situation does not mean flavors need to be kept at minimum. There are many survival food kits with multiple flavors and selections out there you can take advantage of if you want.
However, I can also understand why some preppers want to keep things simple and plain in a survival situation. Sometimes having too many choices complicates your mind and shift your focus away from the goal. This reminds me of Ancient Israelites in the Bible. Before entering the promised land, they were in the wilderness for 40 years. God fed them with manna and manna only. Manna isn’t the most flavored and tasty food, but it kept them well-fed. When Israelites started to complain about manna and wanted other foods, that was when they got in trouble.
Ingredients
Obviously it is important to know the ingredients and what’s included when you buy a survival food kit for emergency. Aside from flavors and selections, one needs to make sure the meals can supply enough calories from proteins and carbohydrates, as well as other essential nutrients (such as vitamins) to keep your body functioning under stressful environments. Also know your specific dietary needs. Do you want to more dinner or breakfast? Do you want more veggie or meat proteins? Only you know best what survival food kits for emergency work for you, so be sure to examine the ingredients before you purchase.
Packaging and Portability
When we purchase the survival food, we don’t know when we will need them, so it is important to consider packaging and portability because you probably will want to store most of them at home while taking some on the go. That said, ideally when you buy in bulk, many brands offer them in buckets that can be easily stacked up and put away. Inside each bucket, there are hundreds of servings in Mylar pouches packed nicely so you can just grab some and put in your backpack. What makes these Mylar bags so nice is that you can prepare food directly with it by adding water, and they may also be re-sealable, so you don’t have to finish the food all at once. However, packaging isn’t always this ideal for every survival food kits out there, some are offered in #10 can and some you can’t purchase in bulk. Of course you will be expected to pay more for better packaging. You should be the one to decide from your prepping situation whether you want to pay more for that.
Weight is another consideration especially for those backpackers. The tasty protein-rich meals are probably going to weigh a lot more than the high-calorie energy bars. We just can’t have the best of both worlds. This is why we have to prioritize our prepping and decide beforehand what aspects we can or cannot sacrifice.
F.A.Q.
What kinds of food to store for an emergency?
During an emergency, it could turn into a survival game of calories where you could be starving. Therefore, one logical option for stock up is high-calorie food. Things with lots of carbohydrates such as white rice, hard grains, dry pasta, canned spaghetti will be good choices. They will give you energy to keep you going
However, high-calorie carbohydrates alone aren’t nutritionally complete. They lack many vitamins and minerals that our body needs. So you should also consider stockpiling plenty of frozen veggies, fruits, and canned food. Keep in mind there are some great canned food choices that can make up some important nutrients. Canned fish is a good source for omega fatty acids. Canned beans are excellent in providing plant proteins and zinc. If you are in need of some iron and fibers, whole grains will be a good choice to go. Most importantly, since lots of survival food supplies require water, be sure to invest in large quantities of water first.
How long are freeze-dried food good for?
Freeze-drying is a popular technique among survival food supplies as it can keep food from being spoiled without refrigeration. Depending on the packaging, you can expect them to be anywhere from 5 to 25 years or even a bit longer.
How much food to store for emergency?
I think this depends on what types of emergency (whether it is short term or long term) and the number of people in your group. Please keep in mind that we would need at least 2000 calories a day to sustain our body’s needs and because our body is not going to have 100% absorption, we should aim to consume about 3000 calories daily. Based on this and how many calories each serving provides, you can figure out how much food you need. Of course calorie alone isn’t enough, you need a comprehensive diet with other nutrients as well.
Should I stock up some MREs?
MRE stands for Meal, Ready-to-Eat. In an emergency situation, you are likely to be caught off guard; you may not have immediate access to your food supplies and your tools to cook them. For all those reasons, it is wise to have some MREs with you at all time to keep your body going before you get to your more permanent food supplies. So yes, it’s wise to keep some MREs with you, but I wouldn’t stock too much because they aren’t something you would want to eat the rest of your life.
Should I make my own survival food?
Probably not a good idea unless you are a professional in this industry and knows exactly what you are doing. When it comes to survival food, it isn’t the just the food itself but the whole process to keep them good for a long time without refrigeration, including the packaging. Any error or imperfection during the process can lead to food being spoiled much quicker. If you only want to do it to save money, keep in mind that you may need to spend quite a bit initially for the equipment and learning before the saving will start to kick in and that’s probably not until after you make large quantity. If you plan to make your own survival food because of dietary needs, don’t forget there are many brands out there focusing on people with dietary restrictions. Chances are there could be something that will work for you which can save you much time and effort. Having said all that, you are very welcome to make your own survival food.
Final Verdict
Tastiness
20+ Years Shelf Life
Food stands up to extreme weather and temperature
High-calorie energy bar
Dietary restrictions
Multiple popular brands in one space
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