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Ok here we go on a review of EMERGENCY foods. I have sitting at the foot of my bed the following supplies from Legacy, Wise, Patriot Pantry, and US Gov’t MREs. The primary scope of this report is to show actual cost.

All these companies use the term “serving.” With regard to these food packets this word “serving” means absolutely nothing. I believe they would like you to think it means meal but for that to be true you would have to define what a meal is and I’m going to define it right now.

It is pretty much agreed that the average person, in a more or less sedate lifestyle needs 2000 calories a day to survive. If you eat three meals a day you need approximately 667 calories per meal to equal the 2000 daily minimum. An active soldier needs more and children and old people need more. During the battle of Stalingrad the food was limited to a frozen block that was comprised of flour and sawdust. The first people that died were the children and the old people.

Ok, so all the food supplied below has nutritional information on the packed including calories so one can determine the total calories in the box and then divide that number into the cost of the box and determine the cost per calorie from each supplier. You can also divide the total calories per box by 667 and get the total meals that can be obtained from the box assuming you eat some which equates to 667 calories three times a day.

THE HOT NUMBERS

LEGACY PREMIUM 60 SERVING ENTRÉE PAIL
TOTAL CALERIES- 21,720 WHICH EQUALS ABOUT 32+ MEALS AT 667/DAY
COST PER CALORY-$.006906

WISE EMERGENCY 60 SERVING ENTRÉE PAIL
TOTAL CALERIES-11640 WHICH EQUALS ABOUT 17+ MEALS AT 667/DAY
COST PER CALORY-$.0115979

PATRIOT PANTRY 128 SERVING 4 WEEK SUPPLY
TOTAL CALERIES-23488 WHICH EQUALS ABOUT 35 MEALS AT 667/DAY
COST PER CALORY-$.006386

NOTE: I was unable to get a grouping from Patriot Pantry that did not include Breakfast which the other two did not. Patriot obtained 3840 calories from Mountain Man Granola and 2704 calories from Apple orchard Oatmeal which I believe helped their numbers, but as I don’t have the individual packet costs I am unable to deduct these to make the comparisons more equal.

And last but not least the old standby Government MREs. MREs are packaged twelve to a case. The government has 24 menus and menus 1-12 are in case A and menus 13-24 are in case B. You can generally buy either one. Case A seems to be more popular and sells for about $85/case and Case B sells for about $65/case. There are also some vegetarian MREs out there which you can buy. (These are mostly for giveaways in countries with dietary restrictions that prevent them from eating what is in some of our mres. Each MRE package has as you can see below a variety of items in it.

TOTAL CALERIES-Each MRE package contains about 1250 calories. When things are good Gi’s get three a day. When things aren’t good they get two. And when things are bad they yell on the radio for resupply. J
COST PER CALERY--.005856

In closing I have only tried a few of the packets in all this. None are so bad that they can’t be eaten. After all, it’s not dinner at the Waldorf, it survival/emergency food. If you are feeding a family of four these top three are probably the way to go.

If you are alone and a widower like me the MREs are the way to go. Legacy, while in their advertising may appear to be most costly, because of the total calories in their food is probably the best buy.

I know there are other brands of emergency/survival food out there. Reply to this post and I’ll buy some and add it to the list.

I think that since this applies to three different brands I will try and post it under each one since I have all three in my possession.

Noel

LEGACY PREMIUM 60 SERVING ENTRÉE PAIL
15 PACKETS OF FOUR "SERVINGS" EACH
CALORIES PER SERV TOTAL CALORIES COST/PAIL $150.00
BEANS & RICE ENCHILADA 350 1400
CHEESE & BROCCOLI SOUP 280 1120
CHEESY POTATO SOUP 350 1400
CHICKEN A LA KING 380 1520
CHILI MAC 340 1360
CLASSIC CHILI 330 1320
ITALIAN MARINARA/PASTA 340 1360
LOADED BAKED POTATO 440 1760
MAC & CHEESE 470 1880
PASTA ALFREDO 410 1640
PASTA PRIMAVERA 420 1680
SPICY CORN CHOWDER 300 1200
STROGANOFF 320 1280
VEG & ROTINI 380 1520
WHITE BEAN & LIME CHILI 320 1280
TOTAL 21720
BASED ON 666 CAL PER MEAL 32.61261261 MEALS
COST PER CALORY 0.006906077

WISE EMERGENCY 60 SERVING ENTREE PAIL
15 PACKETS OF FOUR "SERVINGS" EACH
CALORIES PER SERV TOTAL CALORIES COST/PAIL $135.00
BAKED POTATO CASSEROLE 210 840
HEARTY TORTILLA SOUP 150 600
SOUTHWEST RICE & BEANS 180 720
CHEESY LASAGNA 250 1000
CHILI MACARONI 240 960
CHEESY MACARONI 270 1080
TERIYAKI AND RICE 270 1080
CHICKEN FLA NOODLE SOUP 180 720
POTATOES & CHICKEN POT PIE 190 760
TOMATO BASIL SOUP PASTA 240 960
CREAMY PASTA & VEG ROTINI 200 800
STROGANOFF SAVORY 250 1000
PASTA ALFREDO 280 1120
11640
BASED ON 666 CAL PER MEAL 17.47747748 MEALS
COST PER CALORY 0.011597938

PATRIOT PANTRY 128 SERV 4 WK SUPPLY
DIFFERENT SERVINGS PER PACKET
CALORIES PER SERV TOTAL CALORIES COST/PAIL $150.00
APPLE CINNAMON SPICE 80X16 128
POWDERED MILK 112X16 1792
CREAMY BEEF STROGANOFF 270X8 2160
CREAMY CHICKEN ALFREDO 341X8 2728
MOUNTAIN MAN GRANOLA 240X16 3840
LB POTATO CHEDDAR SOUP 190X8 1520
APPLE ORCHARD OATMEAL 169X16 2704
GRANNYS POTATO SOUP 130X8 1040
MIXED FRUIT BLEND 145X8 1160
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP 110X8 880
CHEESY CHICKEN RICE 269X8 2152
WHITE CHEDDAR PASTA 302X4 1208
CORN CHOWDER 190X4 760
MASHED POTATOS 177X8 1416
23488
35.26726727 MEALS
0.00638624

US GOV'T MRE 12 MEAL SUPPLY PER BOX FIGURE 2 A DAY BUT THREE IS NOT UNHEARD OF IN THE MILITARY $75/12=6.25 PER MEAL X 2 PER DY COMPARISON WILL BE ON 2 MRES A DAY COST
DIFFERENT SERVINGS PER PACKET 12.50/1250= 0.01
COST FOR ONE $625 CALORIES PER SERV TOTAL CALORIES COST/PAIL $150.00
MRE HEATER--THESE THINGS WORK GREAT
SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUSE 260 520
LIMON LIME DRINK 130 260
WHEAT SNACK BREAD 170 340
PEANUTS 170 520
STRAWBERRY JAM 70 520
ENERGY BAR 409 520
WHILE THIS EQUILS OVER HALF OF A 2000 CAL/MEAL INTAKE IT IS THE WAY IT IS FOR COMBAT SOLDIERS TO EAT TWO A DAY. 1209
BASED ON 666 CAL PER MEAL
COST PER CALORY

We have tried a few different brands of emergency foods and found that Legacy provided super delicious meals with larger portions per person than the others we've tried. We have two large teenaged boys who were satisfied with their portion after each Legacy meal we shared together.

Lets just say that I prefer Wise foods....the flavor is much better. That being said however these are not bad! Besides, having a varying supply of different styles for the same entre can help break up monotony. I got this for a short term survival plan, and this will not be something I eat daily. The bucket itself is fairly light weight, but easy to stack on a shelf either on it's own or among other food storage containers. Sturdy plastic case is good for other uses as well, like a latrine if your in a really bad pinch!

I would look elsewhere for waste disposal though, once opened this lid does not seal out smells very well.

Packed in a nice sturdy bucket. Marked the date on top and put it on a shelf in my basement just in case. Don't forget the water boxes too. I wish I would have thought of this when my family was camping. Would have made it a lot easier than packing coolers and perishable food.

Nice selection of entrees which have larger servings. Long shelf life gives you peace of mind that you'll be prepared for any type of disaster.

Lots of food dust in my box (lightly covering every package); checked and none of the packages appear damaged. Must just be a dusty facility.

Best to have some backup foods but still can find cheaper and healthier ways to store emergency foods from your local stores.

Looks good from outside container, but I've read you don't want to open or break seal as it will mess with life expectancy. Just hope all is ok inside if an emergency arises,will another review then. Stay tuned.

I have bought these packages and can recommend them if you are looking for real long term storage of 25+ years.

There was a question about how long this package will feed a family of 4. I didn't realise it was for a camping trip and not for if there was a river that burst it banks cutting you off from the local shops for a few days. I have seen that question a few times so I thought I would repeat the reply I gave to him here, in case someone else finds the information useful:

"There is a lot of confusion about long term food storage, but I'll give you the shortish version. It is all about calories. In a disaster you are supposed to aim for 2,000 calories per person per day. You can survive on 1,000 calories a day if you are a bit overweight, although you will get thinner. I once spent years working with databases and went up to 20 stones in weight. I went on a 1,000 calorie per day diet and lost 104 pounds in 4 months. (That's 7 1/2 stones.) So you can survive on 1,000 calories a day but you will lose weight.

This package has 21,000 calories in it. That is enough for one person to eat normally for 10.5 days. Or to survive and be hungry for 21 days. For four people, they could eat normally for 2.5 days, or on 1,000 calories a day for 5 days. The main benefit of this product is for LONG TERM storage. You can put it away for 25 years and you have it there ready to go.

For short term storage (up to 3 years) you might be better off buying 100 tins of canned food like meatballs or beans and sausages. That would give you 40,000 calories, or enough for 4 people to eat normally for 5 days (2,000 a day), or be a bit hungry for 10 days (1,000 a day). Sorry for the long message, hope this helps. (If you are looking at any of these long term food storage packages - its the CALORIES that matter. Some companies say "60 days of food" but when you divide the numbers up, its only 500 calories a day. At 500 a day you will starve to death over time.)"

The other advantage of these foods is that they provide some variety. You might go crazy eating the same tinned foods day after day and this gives you something different to eat. There are pros and cons with which foods you store. You will need access to water to prepare these foods whereas most tinned food can be eaten right after you have opened them.

These packages are also in bags of 4 portions each, so if you are backpacking take along another bag to put the 1/2 used packet in. Unless there are several of you and you are all going to eat it at once.

Finally, whenever you look at these products from whatever manufacturer, just look at the number of calories in them and divide by 2,000. That will tell you how many days of "normal eating" they will supply.

(There is a company in Germany that supplies a huge range of tinned / freeze dried foods that are cheaper than buying them in the UK. Everything from tinned cheese with a use by date of 2027, to powdered scrambled egg, burgers in a tin (with bun), powdered milk, mashed potato, fried potato etc. They are called "conserva". The postal charges are laughably low - £7 anywhere in Europe I think, no matter the size of the order, although that might change if we are no longer in the eu. I don't know if I can put up the address, just search for conserva if it does not come out :

(Edit 30/06/2019. Conserva's prices are now more expensive than they were 3 years ago. With the Euro about to experience a massive financial shock due to their hidden debt, it might be worth waiting before buying from them when their currency will be weaker. Or just buy the tinned food here and replace them as they get near the use by date. That is much cheaper. There are 1,000 calories in a tin of Spam, that is a whole days worth for £2.50 (less when on offer.) Not the healthiest diet, but this is for floods / other emergencies, and 20 tins do not take up much space.)

Not tried these yet so can't talk about the taste but they come in a great handy sized box and look er delicious! Great for the zombie apocalypse

Does what it says on the tin

I’ve already eaten it all so don’t come to my house if the apocalypse happens. Just kidding. Very tasty emergency food and good for impromptu camping trips. Just as good as some of the other more expensive brands, I’ll buy a couple Because Boy Scouts taught me to always be prepared

Looks like a great value. Did not try since I keeping those for an emergency situation