The Pros and Cons of Emergency Food Buckets

(Psst: The FTC wants me to remind you that this website contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase from a link you click on, I might receive a small commission. This does not increase the price you'll pay for that item nor does it decrease the awesomeness of the item. ~ Daisy)

By the author of Be Ready for Anything and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted

Are you in a hurry to build an emergency pantry? Emergency food buckets can be an essential part of a prepper’s pantry. Like everything else, there are pros and cons to stockpiling emergency food buckets.
Notice I didn’t say “the least expensive way” to build a prepper’s pantry. Buckets are definitely not the thriftiest way to create a stockpile. I also didn’t say “the healthiest way” to build a prepper’s pantry. There are all sorts of methods that will net you more nutritious foods.
Despite all of the drawbacks, I still recommend emergency food buckets. They have some unique benefits that can’t be overstated.

Here’s why emergency food buckets are useful.

Please understand that emergency food buckets, while vital, should not be the entirety of your food storage or your everyday diet. They are only part of the picture of a perfect pantry.

That being said, here’s why every prepper should have some emergency food buckets stashed away:

  1. A lot of calories can be condensed into a very small amount of space.
  2.  If you have the capability to boil water during an emergency, a filling meal can be yours.
  3.  They add variety and speed to an emergency food supply.
  4.  Calorie for calorie, they’re lightweight and easily portable in the event of a bug-out scenario.
  5.  They’re professionally packaged to have a 25-year shelf life, so you can get them, stick them in the back of your closet, and forget about them until you need them. It’s difficult to find any other food sources that will last this long.

You can use emergency food not only as is, for a hot, satisfying meal, but you can also combine it with other pantry items or leftovers to extend them far enough to feed a group. Don’t hesitate to get creative!

(Check out our free QUICKSTART Guide to home canning to learn more about keeping an adequate supply of food stocked away.)

The cons of emergency food buckets

Now, the downside. When you’re going long-term, some compromises must be made.

  • Emergency food buckets contain processed food.
  • Emergency food buckets are more expensive than purchasing things in bulk from the grocery store. (However, stuff from the grocery store won’t last 25 years.)

If you’re looking for ready-made meals, none of them are going to be completely without additives. This is impossible because they’re made to last for 25 years.  As well, they take up minimal space,  cook up quickly and efficiently, and taste reasonably good.

I won’t sugar coat it. Growing your own fresh food every year and preserving it is a wonderful way to go, but it’s not possible for everyone in every situation. It takes time, space, good weather, and all sorts of good luck. You’re going to want a backup, even if this is your primary plan.

Ways to use emergency food buckets and still be healthy

If you look at the pros and cons and believe that emergency food buckets are something you want to add to your stockpile, here are some ways to maintain higher health standards.

Other emergency food bucket tips

There are many other brands of emergency food. Some are more expensive and some are less so. Flavors vary, as does quality. Mountain House, Augason Farms, ReadyWise, and 4Patriots are all brands to consider.

If you are surviving solely on emergency food buckets, you may want to stock some additions to keep yourself not just fed but as healthy as possible. Some people find themselves constipated from this type of food, so a gentle laxative may be in order. And if I were only eating freeze-dried food, regardless of the variety, I’d want to be sure to have a high-quality multivitamin to keep myself well-nourished.

Emergency food buckets should be stored in a cool dark place with low humidity for the longest possible shelf-life. This means that attics (too hot in the summer) and basements, if they’re damp, may not be the best choice for storage. When I had a finished dry basement, I felt that it was the ultimate storage spot for my buckets. Without those options, I line the back of a deep closet with them and hang clothes in front to obscure them from view.

Obviously, that’s pretty easy now, but might not be in a long-term emergency. When counting on your food bucket, consider the environment in which it has been stored. And try not to stress – just do the best that you can. You’re still going to be far, far ahead of the game by having this supply.

What about you?

Do you stock some emergency food buckets for your long-term supplies? Why or why not? What is your favorite brand? Let’s talk buckets in the comments.

About Daisy

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2)  The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.

Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceandSurvival.com. You can find her on FacebookPinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.

Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty on her website, 2)  The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived, and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. She is widely republished across alternative media and  Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses. You can find her on FacebookPinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.

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  • I think that having a freeze dryer is one of the best preps for long term food storage. Utilizing mylar with oxygen absorbers will get you 25 years of storage as well without all the junk that may be in ‘off the shelf’ brands.
    Also, you can buy food at the store (rice, beans, powdered peanut butter, oatmeal, etc) pack in 5 gallon mylar bags within a 5 gallon bucket, add an oxygen absorber, seal and there ya go! Food for way cheap!

  • Back in 2016, Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com ran an extensive forensic test on most of the major survival foods suppliers in this country, and found that most (not all) were secretly using GMO, MSG, hidden pesticides, etc, etc laden foods. The link he used to publish his results has since been written over, but I was able to find a snapshot of that page on the internet’s “eternal” memory at archive.org, here:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20161107143924/http://organicsurvivalfood.naturalnews.com/organic-survival-food-numanna.html

    As of August of 2022 that archive.org link is still working.

    I had bought a few such items from the 4patriots people and so I shared the Mike Adams report with them. I asked if they had plans to sue Mike Adams for defamation regarding false conclusions about their 4patriots survival food products. The only response I got from 4patriots was stone cold silence.

    –Lewis

    • Silence is GOLDEN, remember? SO that goes to show you that they had NO intensions in letting the public know exactly what their food does and does not contain. Guess (as I have heard before), we can’t always trust the label and things are NOT always as they seem !!! Well, now what? Guess when things are bad enough to eat that food, then our time on planet earth will be short anyway and it might not matter at that point in time. Ahhhh, FOOD and WATER that is what we have to have or else it’s over!!!

  • I have these and some MRES for immediate use during a shtf. But along with these I keep a fully stocked pantry. We recently moved to a different state. I never realized how much food preps we had until we had to pack them all in a moving truck. After moving it made me realize that we needed to increase the size of our garden plot. Luckily we now have the acerage to do this. This year was a gardening flop due to the timing of our move. But I have the ground prepared for early planting next year.

  • I have these and some MRES for immediate use during a shtf. But along with these I keep a fully stocked pantry. We recently moved to a different state. I never realized how much food preps we had until we had to pack them all in a moving truck. After moving it made me realize that we needed to increase the size of our garden plot. Luckily we now have the acerage to do this. This year was a gardening flop due to the timing of our move. But I have the ground prepared for early planting next year.

  • I have one or two of the pre packed buckets. Most, from personal experience …are terrible, but edible in a bad situation. I don’t buy them after sampling many brands out there. Frankly the best I’ve tried is mountain house. They have fairly decent buckets of pre made, prepackaged or # 10 can meals. At least they have a fair amount of meat. I’m a big Mre fan, being ex military, and having eaten them for over 50 + years. But the ones after 1990 seem to have more foul ingredients, which isn’t that healthy, but when it comes to a shiff hits the fan situation. I’m not going to care very much. Bottom line for me is? Is there meat in the food. I do home can as well. But unless I’m bugging in, jars don’t travel well.

  • I understand that old food like beans and rice taste ‘gamey’ but are still edible and may still have 40%-60% or more of nutrition available. Do your own research before throwing out what might be better than starving. Yes, I know we should be cycling but that’s easier said than done.

  • I understand having one of these buckets to put in your vehicle if you decide to bug out when things go South. Or if you are really short of space to store food. Otherwise, most tins last for a very long time and do the same job.

  • I will have to decide whether to starve or how much pain to be in when and if I need to use back up food supply. With multiple food allergies (dairy, wheat, rice, beans among many others) there’s very little I will comfortably be able to consume. My husband will eat well, me not so much.

  • I have tons of spices stored. I figure I can spice up just about anything and make it palatable. I also ordered LTS desserts to help offset any blah meals. Govt freeze-dried cinnamon rolls got Hubs attention!

  • I have about a dozen or so various buckets. I only purchased 1 or 2 myself. The rest are birthday presents over the last few years from like-minded friends. I see them as individual kits i can grab on short notice if I have to bug out from home and don’t have time or space to load my other food sources. One of these days, I may break open one of the oldest buckets and give it a taste test…

  • Wait,wait,wait… why the heck is KFC extra tasty-crispy NOT on the list..? As a newbie to prepping, I’d think, “to be sure, the colonel (who invented food in a bucket not destined to be slopped to hogs)would have a stake in the food bucket list”

    Also, don’t forget food that comes in other commodity size variations, such as: tub, trough, or silo.

    Food in a bucket. Every time I hear food in a bucket I think f Jim gaffigan.????

    I have little bucket food (????). I can see the utility in them for most folks. I don’t really have anything to offer except levity. Thanks for reading.

    • Jim Gaffigan makes me think of bacon lol. Think I’ll stick to average size containers of food – no one thinks twice if they see 10 packets of tuna or 4 cans of Spam in your grocery cart.

  • I do keep a few Mountain House buckets on hand.
    I’ve got to be honest though. I don’t care who makes it, I despise Beef Stroganoff. I don’t know who Stroganoff was but he/she’s signature dish tastes like crap to me. Right up there with the nasty Chef Boy R Dee sauce.
    Generally, we stock dried goods with some canned.

  • I use my freeze dryer all the time. Left overs I’ll vacuum seal and freeze until I have a load to run. Otherwise, I’ll make batches of soups, stews, beef, chicken, etc. We run about 1/2 of the excess summer produce (what we don’t eat or can). Our Harvest Right is fantastic for preps. We also have some food buckets, because, I love biscuits and gravy and Mountain House makes the best I’ve found that I don’t make myself.

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