Recently, Costco made news by offering emergency food buckets for sale online and in their stores, for about $80. Amazon offers a similar product for sale, currently priced at $110. The product is a bucket, purporting to contain "275 meals", offering a "3-month supply" of food in case of emergency. This sounds like a terrific deal- until we examine the product in detail.
It is packaged in 55 foil packets, each packet supposedly providing 5 meals. The serving sizes are TINY- about 120 calories each. In reality, each packet constitutes a single meal for a "big eater", or two small meals for a "small eater". This still may be a bargain- 55 meals which do not require rotation and will last up to 20 years in storage, for $2 per meal.
The meals themselves require water to prepare and consume- and the food is largely a "wet diet" of soups, stews, and whey milk, with occasional pasta and pancake servings. On the one hand, this means additional water intake. On the other, it provides a way to utilize water which is safe to drink, but may have subtle undesireable flavors (from purifying chemicals, etc).
According to the manufacturer, the food itself is vegetarian and free of allergy-provoking ingredients. This is a nice feature. Also, the entire food supply fits in a single bucket, which is ideal if one has limited storage space or needs to evacuate their home.
As a sole food source, I would vote "nay" on this product. The "wet diet" may cause gastrointestinal upset (read: diarrhea), which can be dangerous if one is already sick or injured. It is definitely not a "3-month supply" as advertised. However, as a supplement to existing food stocks, and as a portable food supply in case of evacuation, it can serve well in one's emergency planning.
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