Costco's emergency food bucket has gone viral.

[majorhavoc]

Expert weighs in on now-viral Costco 'apocalypse' emergency food bucket

An interesting article on the attention this Readywise emergency food bucket is generating on social media.  Interesting and in places ... stupid.

The need for a heat source and potable water are perfectly valid criticisms (or at least qualifications) of dehydrated/freeze dried foods. And there are good and sensible reasons why at least some of your emergency food supplies should be edible without any preparation.  But I want to pull my hair out when I see sweeping, completely unqualified statements like this (especially from "experts"):

While it's always smart to be prepared in the case of unpredictable events, such as natural disasters, this kit may not actually be the best bang for your buck depending on the resources available to make the food, such as a heat source or potable water. For example, if damage from a hurricane impacted power and water lines, this kit would be rendered useless.

OMG! It's impossible to heat water without electricity! There's no other way! Cooking wasn't even invented until the 1890's!  And water? If it doesn't come from a tap it's useless! Before indoor plumbing, the average human lifespan was about three days before our ancestors keeled over from dehydration!

Prepping means actually thinking through the supplies, capabilities and skills needed to persevere in an emergency.  That includes alternate ways to cook, purify water, produce light, etc.

Preaching to the choir I know. But if you're a newcomer to prepping, take what you see online with a healthy grain of iodized salt. And check in with us. We're really not a bunch of rabid doomsday preppers. We'll give you sensible real world answers to your questions, admit when we don't know something and accept that not everyone has the same needs.

[MacWa77ace]

Yeah, ABC News expert. Became an expert by just 'Identifying' as an expert.

That emergency food kit is for 'semi advanced' preppers and above. Who know that having water and a way to cook without power is a priority. No, your just buying stuff out of chronological order.

[In case you're wondering, 'advanced' preppers make their own kits/food stores using vacuum sealers, and bulk buying the food groups, including freeze dried meat variations.]

You only buy those buckets if you already have water and a way to heat it without power. Again I say those emergency food kits are relatively advanced. I say that because I live in a hurricane area and every year there are various pamphlets released on what to stock up on. NONE of them say pre-prepared freeze dried emergency food buckets. It's usually canned foods, or dry foods and powdered milk AND bottled water.

[Anianna]

While the FEMA Deputy Press Secretary does recommend foods that don't require water or heat, it's important to note that that quote came from the author of the article, Kelly McCarthy of Good Morning America, not from Genco who isn't introduced until the following paragraph.  That said, it's still incredibly frustrating and I continue to be beyond annoyed at the lack of credibility and responsibility in modern journalism. 

I get that you might not have great fresh water access, but if you're in a situation where you have no access to fresh water, your focus better be on getting that water.  You can live for days without food, but water is another matter. 

[majorhavoc]

Yeah, ABC News expert. Became an expert by just 'Identifying' as an expert.

That emergency food kit is for 'semi advanced' preppers and above. Who know that having water and a way to cook without power is a priority. No, your just buying stuff out of chronological order.

[In case you're wondering, 'advanced' preppers make their own kits/food stores using vacuum sealers, and bulk buying the food groups, including freeze dried meat variations.]

You only buy those buckets if you already have water and a way to heat it without power. Again I say those emergency food kits are relatively advanced. I say that because I live in a hurricane area and every year there are various pamphlets released on what to stock up on. NONE of them say pre-prepared freeze dried emergency food buckets. It's usually canned foods, or dry foods and powdered milk AND bottled water.

That's a good point about advanced vs semi-advanced vs entry level preppers, Mac. I guess the most charitable thing to say about the advice the article's author was giving is it's directed at entry level preppers. Ditto for most of the public-facing guidance on various .gov emergency management websites.

It's just weird that this is the second online article I've seen in the past few days that's sort of disparaged Costco's Readywise emergency food bucket.  I'm no great fan of Readywise, but I'm of the mind that mainstream products that raise awareness of, and help ordinary families prepare for, the unexpected is a good thing.

[KentuckyCarbine]

While it's always smart to be prepared in the case of unpredictable events, such as natural disasters, this kit may not actually be the best bang for your buck depending on the resources available to make the food, such as a heat source or potable water. For example, if damage from a hurricane impacted power and water lines, this kit would be rendered useless.

OMG! It's impossible to heat water without electricity! There's no other way! Cooking wasn't even invented until the 1890's!  And water? If it doesn't come from a tap it's useless! Before indoor plumbing, the average human lifespan was about three days before our ancestors keeled over from dehydration!


This a ... MajorBummer ... I have all this food and didn't realize until now that it was useless in an emergency situation.  If only there was another way ...

[majorhavoc]

While it's always smart to be prepared in the case of unpredictable events, such as natural disasters, this kit may not actually be the best bang for your buck depending on the resources available to make the food, such as a heat source or potable water. For example, if damage from a hurricane impacted power and water lines, this kit would be rendered useless.

OMG! It's impossible to heat water without electricity! There's no other way! Cooking wasn't even invented until the 1890's!  And water? If it doesn't come from a tap it's useless! Before indoor plumbing, the average human lifespan was about three days before our ancestors keeled over from dehydration!


This a ... MajorBummer ... I have all this food and didn't realize until now that it was useless in an emergency situation.  If only there was another way ...

Perhaps someday when we're all sitting around a campfire and drinking beer, another way of heating water will come to us.  Wishful thinking I know, but it could happen ...