Buckets Of Food

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

  • No ad networks!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • jollymon

    Active Member
    Dec 6, 2016
    852
    Now in Tennessee ,
    I have some Wise buckets and I tried some of the meals before getting a supply of buckets. It wasn't awfully use of spices helped so I bought a 6 month supply. There that good.
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,154
    Compare the major brands on cost for the number of calories, protein, fat levels, etc. (some companies idea of a days supply is "unusual") Get some sample meals and try them because it is not a good buy if you won't eat it. Then buy what suits you.

    Most dedicated preppers end up storing food as bulk items i.e.-cans of grain, cans of bulk vegetables, fruits, bulk condiments, etc. because ultimately it is less expensive and offers more versatility.
    https://store.churchofjesuschrist.org/usa/en/food-storage-3074457345616678849-1
     

    Alea Jacta Est

    Extinguished member
    MDS Supporter
    Auguson Farms is among the better names for buckets and cans imo.

    Short term, 1 mo, I’m a Mountain House guy pouches and buckets.

    I have Auguson Farms for mid term use.

    As mentioned by Blacksmith, bulk rice, beans, oats, wheat, etc in buckets and Mylar is the way to go for long term.

    I’d buy more Auguson in a minute. I’d avoid the My Patriot Supply type shit and just put aside a bunch of Uncle Bens and Rice a Roni and instant oatmeal and canned tuna (oil) and sardines (oil) instead. There’s lots of shysters in the emergency food game. Wise is also on my ok list FWIMBW.

    Hope that helps.
     

    MattTheGunslinger

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 26, 2010
    1,373
    Baltimore county
    Augason Farm is pretty good in my opinion. Ive tried most of the hiking oriented name brand food packs found at Cabelas or REI. My favorite by far is Mountain house. Honeyville is another one I tried and liked. Ive purchased their fruit in #10 cans and everyone in my family liked it. Getting a mix of pouches/buckets and #10 cans is a good idea if you have family your feeding.
     

    K31

    "Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 15, 2006
    35,632
    AA county
    It's an easy way to accumulate a store for bad times in a relatively short time frame assuming bad times haven't already started. They have their own storage, are light, and usually stack nice. They also have a long advertised shelf life.

    The cons are: they tend to emphasize carbs over protein, the maximum shelf life depends on having a controlled environment (~70 deg. F), they require water and preparation (which a lot of survival food do, but for apples to apples comparison...).
     

    Ponder_MD

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 9, 2020
    4,554
    Maryland
    The cons that K31 mentions are important. These are fine for short term (a few weeks to a month) but stockpiling ordinary dry goods and non-perishables is far less expensive, more versatile, and more healthy in the long run.
    Of course, dry goods like rice and dried beans also require considerable water to prepare so that's a wash.

    A family acquaintance was stockpiling this bucketed survival food just as the pandemic kicked off. Sadly, they self-terminated and the buckets of food were given to me so I have a ton of this stuff. I also have several cases of military MRE's. The advantage to the MRE's is that they only require a few drops of water to prepare (for the heater pack). They can be eaten cold and dry just as easily. So, obtain some military MRE's for instances when water and cooking fuel are scarce. Eat the bucket food when you're bugging in but you have sufficient water and fuel, but eat your "real food" first.

    For those of us with retired ID cards, MRE's can be had at the Ft. Meade commissary, last I heard. They can also be found on Amazon and eBay but these are often older.
     

    TomisinMd

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 11, 2013
    1,728
    Elkton, Md
    I have many buckets of mountain house, Legacy, and 4Patriots. All taste very good, IMHO. Legacy seems to have more calories per serving than most. I'm starting the bulk food storage now, as folks have suggested, and also medical supplies.
    Finally, looking at a hand pump for the well this year too.
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    One thing a lot of people seem to ignore is stockpiling fats (though some of us have a self-contained reserve). Fat contains 9 calories per gram and protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram. You can easily keep gallons of olive oil or the oil of your choice and add it to your packaged food to supplement calories.
     

    Alea Jacta Est

    Extinguished member
    MDS Supporter
    Great and very important point DocT

    Not for nothing but olive oil over time might be problematic as with some others.

    I wouldn’t overlook simple bird suet with or without seeds. Pretty darned stable over time and there’s lots of folks who talk about how good canned RECIPE brand canned dog food looks... I’m just sayin
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    Great and very important point DocT

    Not for nothing but olive oil over time might be problematic as with some others.

    I wouldn’t overlook simple bird suet with or without seeds. Pretty darned stable over time and there’s lots of folks who talk about how good canned RECIPE brand canned dog food looks... I’m just sayin

    https://www.happypreppers.com/oil.html
     

    K31

    "Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 15, 2006
    35,632
    AA county
    The cons that K31 mentions are important. These are fine for short term (a few weeks to a month)

    Actually, they'll last a couple of decades+ depending on the manufacturer and whether their estimates are correct (I've got no reason to doubt this and some of these are sold by the Mormons so I assume they have had opportunity to test their longevity). You do need to maintain the proper storage temperature as stated earlier but this is the same with MREs for the greatest longevity.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    About the calories and servings.

    Wise, and many others, list one serving as one meal. But that one serving is about 200 calories, so 3 meals are only 600 calories per day, versus the recommended 2000 (more for an active person).

    Mountain House, and it looks like the one in the OP, are based on around 2000 calories a day. Mountain House counts one pouch as one meal, even though each pouch is listed as 2.5 - 4 "servings."

    So make sure you are comparing apples to apples.

    One thing I did notice about the one linked in the OP, is no meat. There is protein, and some things are "chicken flavored" but no actual meat. Many Mountain House meals do contain actual meat.

    These are convenient to purchase, but unless you are planning on bugging out, you can do better with canned goods. Get some shelves and those racks that are first in - first out. Then every time you open a can of something, buy 2 cans. Very quickly you will end up stocked up on the things you actually eat. Pretty much, in 1 year, you will have 1 year in reserve.

    Add in some bulk storage of rice and beans, and you have a good long term food supply. I would probably add some freeze dried or canned meats to add to the rice and beans for the really longer term.

    Then you can supplement with things like freeze dried food.

    I have picked up some of the camping and miliary freeze dried things to just try them. I find that most of the Mountain House and AlpineAire I have tried are actually pretty good.

    The military MCW (cold weather and long range patrol) ration is Mountain House entrees, in a vacuum packed bog. They are a small block so easier to pack versus the camping versions. But due to military contract requirements, they are only quoted as a 3 year shelf life.
     

    Xshot

    Ultimate Member
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 14, 2013
    1,645
    Pasadena, MD
    Awesome info. Thanks!

    What's the realistic life expectancy for canned stuff? Such as a can of Campbell's soup or green beans or whatever it may be. Even the the can may say a few years, how long would it actually be good for?

    I like the idea of a regular food stockpile plus some of the backup stuff.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    Awesome info. Thanks!

    What's the realistic life expectancy for canned stuff? Such as a can of Campbell's soup or green beans or whatever it may be. Even the the can may say a few years, how long would it actually be good for?

    I like the idea of a regular food stockpile plus some of the backup stuff.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    https://www.primalsurvivor.net/canned-food-shelf-life/

    Very long. We ate WW2 c-rations when I was a cub scout in the early 80's.
     
    One thing a lot of people seem to ignore is stockpiling fats (though some of us have a self-contained reserve). Fat contains 9 calories per gram and protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram. You can easily keep gallons of olive oil or the oil of your choice and add it to your packaged food to supplement calories.

    Great and very important point DocT

    Not for nothing but olive oil over time might be problematic as with some others.

    I wouldn’t overlook simple bird suet with or without seeds. Pretty darned stable over time and there’s lots of folks who talk about how good canned RECIPE brand canned dog food looks... I’m just sayin

    I bought a bunch of cheap butter from Aldi, converted it to ghee and pressure canned it in 8oz jars.
    Hindsight 20/20, in the future, I will just buy jarred ghee. It took a lot of time and effort just to save a few bucks.
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,154
    One thing a lot of people seem to ignore is stockpiling fats (though some of us have a self-contained reserve). Fat contains 9 calories per gram and protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram. You can easily keep gallons of olive oil or the oil of your choice and add it to your packaged food to supplement calories.

    Back in the day the long term storage food was Pemmican, basically fat with added enhancements.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican

    Google will uncover much more about Pemmican.
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Latest posts

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    274,915
    Messages
    7,258,421
    Members
    33,348
    Latest member
    Eric_Hehl

    Latest threads

    Top Bottom