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These are packaged in a 5 gallon container. Has anybody had experience with this package. In theory the food is preserved for 20 years. Costco sells this for $90.00. Is the food reasonable for consumption. Some posts in other locations see to like it. What do you think? Thanks.
 
These are packaged in a 5 gallon container. Has anybody had experience with this package. In theory the food is preserved for 20 years. Costco sells this for $90.00. Is the food reasonable for consumption. Some posts in other locations see to like it. What do you think? Thanks.

I wouldn't do it. Look at the serving sizes for the meals. Usually they are 1/2 a meal at best, especially if you are expending a lot of energy. I did see one of those costco buckets once. I don't think that the bags were packaged all that great as you could kind of smell the contents of the bags. really, think of it this way. How long would a 5gal bucket of beef stew or chili last you for 3 meals a day, maybe a week or 2 tops? Think about it. 250 meals is almost 1.5months worth of food for 1 person. That should not fit into a 5gal bucket. It should be a lot more than that. If you have a family, I bet one of those buckets would last maybe 5days.

This is right up there with the "year's supply" from bepreparred.com. Good idea, but pretty much useless for just about everyone, IMHO. I think you would be better off buying a bunch of mtn house #10 cans and some freeze dried fruits and veggies from honeyvillegrain.com. Throw in a some cans of rice and you are on your way. Maybe a few MRE's, maybe. There are better ways to get a food supply going than gimicky things like this. I see this as crutch to help make people feel better but in the end, when its needed, there will be a higher potential for a failure due to over reliance on what is written and not on experience. I don't know what you are trying to do with your food storage, if you are just getting started or want to have stuff thats ready to go. But there are better, more cost effective ways to get quick prep/no prep food going than this.
 
There's some appeal to having a pre-made bucket of food that you can just throw in your car & go. However, Cheese makes a good point about serving size & calories - it's unlikely to provide 250 full meals, especially if you are burning a lot of calories running around.

Just as a comparison, in a case of Mountain House #10 cans, there's roughly 60 servings. These probably average around 225 calories each. So, there's 13,500 calories / 2400 calories per day = roughly 5-6 people days of food.

There's also the question of "what does this stuff taste like"? I suppose that if you're hungry, you'll eat anything. However, I've had most of the Mountain House stuff while backpacking, so at least I know what I'm getting into when I buy a case.
 
Well, I bought one of each of these from Costco:

Costco - Food For Health? Emergency Food Kit

Costco - Food For Health? Deluxe Family Emergency Supply Kit

The items are basic but sturdy enough to be usable but I cannot speak to the food because I have not opened it and tried it. However I've bought all kinds of stuff over the years from Costco and I've never had anything be total crap from them so I'm taking it on faith that it won't taste like a warm turd.

That said, I figure it won't be as many meals as the label says but for my family and I just starting out with our prep I wanted to have something on hand while I get other things ready.

My .02 cents.

-d
 
Check out the reviews...especially if you are going to use this as a last resort.

I am very disappointed. The main meals are barely edible. They also have a gritty residue. I bought three buckets for my family in case of emergency. We tried out three of the entrees (Western Stew, Corn Chowder, and Barley Vegetable) just to get an idea of what they are like. My kids tasted them and then wouldn't eat it. My wife didn't like it either. I am not a finicky eater and tried to eat it, but I'm afraid I ended up thowing the test items out. I was raised not to thow out food, so I found it very difficult when I was faced with this dilemma---I mean it's gotta be bad. My wife said it would taste better in an emergency when you have nothing else to eat. There are substantially better products out there (like Mountain House) that has a shorter shelf life (7 yrs instead of 20-25 yrs), but at least when those things near expiration, you can eat them instead of thowing them out. My kids have tried two of the Mountain House product (Chicken Teriyaki, Beef Stroganoff) and loved it so much they ate about 15 packages as regular meals. So we are going to get that instead.

I opened the container and found the 1st item sitting there, 'potato soup' had a faulty seal and has spilled out onto the other packets. Kind of a mess. Some of the other packets were not vacuum sealed (air tight), while most were. I had opened the container just for this reason, to see the quality of packing. I have friends whom I would like to recommend making a similar purchase, but this was a let down. None the less, what choice do we have in today's world? I guess quality can no longer be expected perfect. I checked 'yes' that I would recommend this product, as this type item is vital, even with a few faulty packages. Oh, I have not even tried eating anything yet...if and when I really need this I will probably be happy as can be I am not eating shoe leather instead.

I have purchased these before from Costco and I'm ordering more right now along with Beans and Rice. "IF" one of these meals are only 400 or so Calories, it sure beats eating nothing or setting around with an emplty belly, though you can go for 40 days without food. Great Buy and Great Price.

Buyer should be aware that the calorie content is insufficient for human survival. The product specifies that an adult would consume 5 servings per day. Unfortunately, that would provide about 500 calories. Calorie consumption varies from person to person, but is generally at least 2000 calories per day. So you will definitely want to buy a lot more of this product in order to have an adequate earthquake supply.

The food is low in calories, protein, fat and overall nutritional content. You need a lot of water to cook these foods, and a reliable heat source. In what kind of emergency would you have ample supply of fresh water and heat?? With almost all natural disasters the water supply will be contaminated with sewage, making it unsuitable to drink unless boiled for 10 minutes... but heat sources to boil water is also limited in emergencies like that. If you buy this make sure you have an ample stockpile of fuel and water to "cook" these rations.
In my opinion, boxes of high calorie power bars would be better for emergencies than this and you can save any fresh water for actual drinking instead of cooking.
If you are going to spend money for an actual stockpile of emergency food, buy USCG approved rations, or military rations, you can buy them in bulk online easily. At least with those rations you won't need water, heat, and won't induce thirst. They also contain tons of calories and nutrients that people in high stress environments needs.

<broken link removed>
 
I wouldn't do it. Look at the serving sizes for the meals. Usually they are 1/2 a meal at best, especially if you are expending a lot of energy. I did see one of those costco buckets once. I don't think that the bags were packaged all that great as you could kind of smell the contents of the bags. really, think of it this way. How long would a 5gal bucket of beef stew or chili last you for 3 meals a day, maybe a week or 2 tops? Think about it. 250 meals is almost 1.5months worth of food for 1 person. That should not fit into a 5gal bucket. It should be a lot more than that. If you have a family, I bet one of those buckets would last maybe 5days.

This is right up there with the "year's supply" from bepreparred.com. Good idea, but pretty much useless for just about everyone, IMHO. I think you would be better off buying a bunch of mtn house #10 cans and some freeze dried fruits and veggies from honeyvillegrain.com. Throw in a some cans of rice and you are on your way. Maybe a few MRE's, maybe. There are better ways to get a food supply going than gimicky things like this. I see this as crutch to help make people feel better but in the end, when its needed, there will be a higher potential for a failure due to over reliance on what is written and not on experience. I don't know what you are trying to do with your food storage, if you are just getting started or want to have stuff thats ready to go. But there are better, more cost effective ways to get quick prep/no prep food going than this.

MOUNTAIN HOUSE # 10 CANS. Does anybody know if these can be purchased locally in Portland, Oregon? Thanks.
 
MOUNTAIN HOUSE # 10 CANS. Does anybody know if these can be purchased locally in Portland, Oregon? Thanks.

The Epicenter.com has free shipping for these - they're based in Eugene.

If you are going to spend money for an actual stockpile of emergency food, buy USCG approved rations, or military rations, you can buy them in bulk online easily. At least with those rations you won't need water, heat, and won't induce thirst. They also contain tons of calories and nutrients that people in high stress environments needs.

I agree with this quote - you should take a look at lifeboat rations. These only have a 5-year shelf life, but pack a lot of calories in a compact, durable package. They don't taste bad, either. From a calorie standpoint, a 20-day supply of lifeboat rations fits into the same space as a case of #10 cans. And, they don't require water or heat.

Not trying to dissuade you from #10 cans (I have plenty of them in my supply) but just offering something else to think of.
 
Check out the reviews...especially if you are going to use this as a last resort.


<broken link removed>

Riot, at least be fair about it and don't pick all the bad reviews out of the 30 :). Most people rated the product decently over all. Best advice I saw in a couple of the reviews was these meals are a good base that you can supplement with a bit more seasoning etc.

YMMV and all that jazz.

-d
 
While I haven't tried those meals from Costco, I have tried Mountain House freeze-dried foods. They are good! Also, most bags say "Two Servings", and that seems to be true. Ar least, I have been able to get two meals out of each of the ones I tried. I purchase these products from Bi-Mart.
 
Riot, at least be fair about it and don't pick all the bad reviews out of the 30 :). Most people rated the product decently over all. Best advice I saw in a couple of the reviews was these meals are a good base that you can supplement with a bit more seasoning etc.
-d

To use as a base for adding additional ingredients is exactly why we have a couple of those buckets. Using these along with our frozen or canned items, or with whatever the garden is producing at the time, is our plan. Seems like a reasonably priced way to add some variety (for those with water and a heat source). This stuff is dehydrated, not freeze dried (like Mt. House, etc.), so having good water supply and heat source is essential.
 
Riot, at least be fair about it and don't pick all the bad reviews out of the 30 :). Most people rated the product decently over all. Best advice I saw in a couple of the reviews was these meals are a good base that you can supplement with a bit more seasoning etc.

YMMV and all that jazz.

-d

To be honest- the bucket is being sold as a survival item and advertized as having 250 meals. However, if you try to survive off this thing you will be mal-nourished. You won't have enough calories to do everyday tasks to survive (gather wood, make shelter, find water).

I felt I took the reviews that were important....from people that actually tried it and stated that you basically need to look elsewhere for survival food for you and your family.

I you want to buy this thing, go right ahead...if you think all you need is some Mrs. Dash then get it.

But me, I'd rather get a bunch of callorie bars, dried milk, wheat, rice and beans.
 
But me, I'd rather get a bunch of callorie bars, dried milk, wheat, rice and beans.

I'm of the same opinion and have added canned meat/fish to my small supply of emergency foods. I also keep a Have a Heart trap with my shtf stuff because I wouldn't go too many days without eating before roof rabbit {cat} started to sound tasty :)
 
I you want to buy this thing, go right ahead...if you think all you need is some Mrs. Dash then get it.

But me, I'd rather get a bunch of calorie bars, dried milk, wheat, rice and beans.

1.) Point taken and I think we agree.

2.) I prefer Mortan's steak seasoning

3.) Got that stuff too.

:)

-d
 
1.) Point taken and I think we agree.

2.) I prefer Mortan's steak seasoning

3.) Got that stuff too.

:)

-d

Have you cracked one open yet?

It would be nice to seee a review from somewhere other than Costco for their own products. Sometimes I think the reviews are a bit biased...people can't find a parking spot, wait for hours in line just to get up front and remember that their card is expired...then comes the reviews.

Or vise versa...people with nothing better to do (or on Costco's payroll) hop on and church up their products.
 
Have you cracked one open yet?

It would be nice to seee a review from somewhere other than Costco for their own products. Sometimes I think the reviews are a bit biased...people can't find a parking spot, wait for hours in line just to get up front and remember that their card is expired...then comes the reviews.

Or vise versa...people with nothing better to do (or on Costco's payroll) hop on and church up their products.

I've not done so yet but will soon. I wanted to get a little more in the pantry before I did a few test runs with it. I'll keep ya all in the loop.

-d
 
Why do you need to stock food? Just walk into the woods, there's food everywhere.

But not all year around...you need to know how to plant seeds, store foods and preserve food for the winter months. The early US settlers found this out the hard way and many of them had their arses saved by the Native Americans (hence Thanksgiving).

Hunting game uses valuable resources and burns many calories...sure the deer and rabits may be plentiful NOW. But what about when 10% of the US is doing exactly what you are doing?

It's always good to have a plan and a backup plan.
 

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