The best emergency food supplies to stock up on right now

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At a glance: The best emergency food supply kits

Emergencies happen — whether it's a flood, a tornado, or (*shudder*) an epidemic. One of the best ways to stay prepared is to stock up on emergency food supplies.

The best emergency food supplies take the legwork out of storing your own canned or dried food supplies. The best emergency food kits usually come in the form of a bin filled with individually packaged meals that can be cooked easily and quickly. This means no individual item research, better tasting emergency food, and less work if you need to prepare anything during an emergency. In addition, the improved packaging of survival rations allows you to easily store them in a car, closet or garage.

However, receiving an emergency food supply doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. Because they offer high-calorie meals in a compact, easy-to-cook package, emergency food supplies also make great choices for long camping trips, backpacking, and other such adventures.

The best emergency food supplies

You don't have to be facing an emergency to stock up on emergency food supplies. Get these items online now and stash them in your pantry, closet or car to stay prepared should the unthinkable happen. After thoroughly researching which brands people like and sampling a few ourselves, we think these are the best emergency food supply kits worth buying right now. All are available on Amazon with at least a 4/5 star rating.

1. Mountain House Classic Bucket

Mountain House is one of the best brands of emergency food supplies, providing nutritious freeze-dried food in easy-to-store buckets. One of the most important advantages of the brand is the guaranteed service life of 30 years, which allows you to put the bin aside for decades without worry. Weighing just 5.7kg, this Classic Bin includes 24 servings and five meal options, including chicken fried rice and beef stroganoff. These meals are also packed with nutrients like protein, iron and potassium. To prepare a meal, fill the bowl-like package with hot water and wait ten minutes — that's it.

Promised Customer Feedback: “I've tried two packages of the food so far to test the quality (beef stroganoff and chicken with rice). I have had some stored for 2 years. I was very impressed with the taste and quality of the food. It tastes very fresh and close to a homemade quality and probably better than what most restaurants would serve you.” — SJ

2. ReadyWise Emergency Food Supply

If you're stocking up on emergency supplies for a large family (or just want to be extra prepared), check out this bucket from ReadyWise. It contains 120 servings of freeze-dried meals and packs it all into a bucket that weighs just under 20 pounds. With a lifespan of 25 years, you won't need to refill anytime soon. ReadyWise also includes a generous selection of 13 meals from lasagna to tortilla soup to teriyaki and rice. All of these offer fairly well-balanced nutrients without trans fats. To prepare meals, just add hot water and wait 12 to 15 minutes.

Promised customer feedback: “If you're camping, on a survival trip, or planning for your next emergency, this is just what you need. The price is a bit high, but not outrageous for the quality of food you get.” — Darrell

3. Mountain House Essential Basket (Gluten Free)

Whether you're celiac or gluten-free by choice, there's no need to interrupt your diet in an emergency. This gluten-free Essential bucket from Mountain House includes four meal varieties, including rice and chicken and bacon scrambled eggs — all made without wheat, barley or rye ingredients. You get a total of 22 servings, which is about enough to feed one person (heartily) for four days. Like all of Mountain House's survival food supplies, the gluten-free bin is guaranteed to last 30 years.

Promised customer feedback: “Easy to make and very tasty. The only thing I would recommend differently is to put less water in the omelet case. Everything else was perfectly measured and tasted great.” – Dragonfly

4. Emergency Food Supply 4Patriotes

Want to be extra prepared for a long-term emergency? Get one of these emergency power kits from 4Patriots. In addition to the usual one-, two-, and four-week supplies, the highly rated brand also offers massive three-month, six-month, and one-year supplies. We also love that these huge supplies have variety (24 recipes in a three-month supply), so you won't get so bored. All 4Patriot meals have a shelf life of 25 years, allowing you to store those large supplies without worrying about them going bad anytime soon.

Promised customer feedback: “I absolutely love this product. Love the container it comes in because it's easy to store and carry. The only complaint I have is that I wish they came in smaller portions for a family of two and once you open it you have to eat it, so I plan to repackage it in smaller portions.” — Amanda

5. SOS Rations Emergency Food Bar

These emergency bars from SOS Rations are a great utility option. The package contains nine fortified food bars for a total of 3,600 calories. They require no preparation and offer quick, easy-to-carry energy. This makes SOS bars perfect for taking on hikes, filling up a larger emergency food supply, or stashing in your car or boat. The shelf life is five years, but, unlike the above options, this rating is about “climate conditions”. This means the bars will survive for five years in harsh weather conditions and possibly much longer in ideal storage conditions.

Promised customer feedback: “Each bar is individually wrapped in thin wrap. The outer wrapper is vacuum sealed. Great taste, fast shipping and affordable price.” — Leather head

Emergency Food Supply Buying Guide

Here's what we considered when compiling this list and what you should consider when choosing the right emergency food for your needs.

Lifetime: Ideally, emergency food supplies sit on the shelf until they spoil. However, depending on the supply you choose, it may need to be replaced sooner. Shelf life varies widely, with emergency food lasting anywhere from five to 30 years. Some brands also guarantee a certain lifespan while others give a range.

portions: The amount of servings in an emergency feeder is especially important if you are feeding an entire family. Of course, more is usually better, but this also means that food will take up more space in storage.

Preparation: The best emergency food supplies have meals that can be prepared quickly and easily. Be sure to check how each meal is prepared and what other equipment is needed (usually this is just hot water).

Nutrition: Calories are what you need in emergency scenarios. Look at how many total calories the meal kit contains, as well as how many calories are in each meal (it should be around 200 to 300 calories per meal). Also, check the nutrition facts for each meal in the kit. some skimp on nutrients such as protein or vitamins.

Taste: Although nutrition is the main concern in an emergency, food must taste good. Emergency food supplies have come a long way in recent years with better tasting meals, so it's worth looking for good tasting kits.

How We Chose the Best Emergency Foods

With the above in mind, we have thoroughly researched and tested the top brands of emergency food supplies. However, we couldn't see what the emergency food brands tasted like after years of storage, so we paid close attention to customer testimonials from people who ate the food after years on the shelves. After researching and testing ourselves, we