Survival Food Kit Buying Guide

To compare survival food kits, check eight things: calories per day, servings versus calories, the shelf-life claim and its conditions, preparation and water, ingredients, cost per 1,000 calories, return and replacement terms, and storage space. Most kits are sized per person, so convert every "feeds" claim to a family-of-four count first.

Disclosure: We earn a commission if you buy through our links to My Patriot Supply, at no extra cost to you. How we are paid.

First, how kit marketing hides per-person sizing

Kit names such as "1-Year Emergency Food Supply" read like a household product. In practice, the companies size them for one person, and the family claim sits further down the page. The same bucket set that is "a year" for one adult is a quarter of a year for four.

Here is what three companies state on their own pages (read 2026-10-14), converted at 8,000 calories a day for four people at 2,000 each:

Reading the table: divide a one-person duration by four and you get the family duration. Ninety days divided by four is 22.5 days, about three weeks, which is why a "3-month" kit lasts roughly three weeks for four. Be Prepared's page phrases the 3-month kit as feeding a family of four "nearly a month"; the arithmetic on its own calories gives 21.2 days of the 8,000-calorie household in this guide. That is a difference in assumed calories and rounding, not a hidden fact, but it is exactly why a number you compute yourself beats a headline.

Note the Mountain House row. Its own page says "approximately 1,732 calories per day", so for four people at that level the kit lasts 632,180 / (4 x 1,732 = 6,928) = about 91 days, matching the company's "three months". At the 2,000-calorie reference it lasts 79 days. Neither number is wrong; they answer different questions.

The eight criteria

1. Calories per day

Calories per day per person is the base number. FDA uses 2,000 as a general guide, and needs vary with age and activity. My Patriot Supply says its kits average "2,000+ calories per day"; dividing its published 4-week total, 56,460, by 28 days gives about 2,016. Be Prepared's pages list 1,888 calories per day, and Mountain House lists about 1,732. Lower calories per day is not a flaw, but it means the kit lasts fewer days for a household that eats 2,000.

2. Servings versus calories

Servings are a unit the company defines. Divide total calories by servings to see how big a serving is:

• My Patriot Supply 4-Week: 56,460 / 250 = about 226 calories a serving.
• My Patriot Supply 1-Year: 727,840 / 3,384 = about 215.
• Be Prepared 3-Month: 169,950 / 771 = about 220.
• Mountain House 1-Year: 632,180 / 2,160 = about 293.

A kit with a bigger serving size may show fewer servings and the same calories. Compare total calories, not serving counts.

3. Shelf-life claim and its conditions

Every company words this differently. My Patriot Supply states up to 25 years when stored properly. Be Prepared states up to 25 years unopened in cool, dry storage at 55 to 70 F (10 years for banana slices), and up to a year after a pouch is opened. Mountain House states a "30-Year Taste Guarantee," which is a taste guarantee rather than a safety date. None of these is an independent test, so read each as the company's statement. The shelf life guide goes through this wording.

4. Preparation and water

Most freeze-dried kits need water, and some need a heat source. The My Patriot Supply figures: 3.57 gallons for the 72-hour pack, 9.14 for the 4-week kit, 36.12 for the 3-month and 144.5 for the 1-year. Mountain House lists about 88 gallons for its 1-year kit. Be Prepared's pages did not publish a water figure. Add this to your drinking water plan; the emergency water guide has the arithmetic.

5. Ingredients and special diets

This guide did not compare allergens or ingredient lists between brands. Read each pouch's ingredients on the product page, and ask a clinician about infants, pregnancy or medical diets (see the nutrition note). One review on My Patriot Supply's own page is headed "Much of the food does not taste good", a reminder that taste varies and that buying a small kit first is a reasonable way to find out.

6. Cost per 1,000 calories

Price per 1,000 calories is the most direct way to compare kits that are sized differently. These are computed from each company's published figures on 2026-10-14:

On published calories, Be Prepared's 3-month kit costs less per calorie than My Patriot Supply's 3-month kit. Mountain House's 1-year kit is listed at $10,366.99 (list price $12,697.20) and was shown as sold out on 2026-10-14. The calculation does not measure taste, variety or packaging, and the companies sell different products.

7. Returns, replacement and warranty

My Patriot Supply states a 30-day return on unopened, unused product (the buyer pays return shipping), free shipping over $149, and a Disaster Replacement Warranty that must be activated and is at the company's discretion. We did not read competitors' return terms for this guide, so check them on the product page before ordering.

8. Packaging and storage space

Freeze-dried kits are bulky. My Patriot Supply's 4-Week kit is 2 buckets at 31.65 pounds, its 3-Month kit is 6 buckets at 102.53 pounds, and its 1-Year kit is 24 buckets at 410.13 pounds. For four people for a year, 4 x 410.13 = 1,640.52 pounds. Be Prepared lists its 1-month kit as one bucket at about 31 pounds 7 ounces. Mountain House's 1-year kit is 406.2 pounds. Measure shelf or closet space before ordering a large kit.

A short worksheet

1. Write down your household's daily calories (8,000 for four at 2,000 each).
2. Divide the kit's published total calories by that number.
3. Divide the price by the total calories and multiply by 1,000.
4. Check the shelf-life wording and who makes the claim.
5. Add water for preparation to your drinking water.
6. Confirm you have storage space and a cooking method.

When a kit is not the right tool

A kit does not suit a tight budget, a household with allergies you cannot verify, or a family that dislikes dehydrated food. Building from groceries first, using the emergency food list for a family of four, costs less and tests what your family eats.

Where to go next

• For brand facts in detail, read the My Patriot Supply review.
• For three brands side by side, read My Patriot Supply vs. Mountain House vs. Augason Farms.
• For the number of calories your household needs, start at the guide to how much food a family of four needs.
• For the overall plan, see the emergency food supply for family of four homepage, linked here as emergency food supply for family of four.

Augason Farms kit pages could not be read on 2026-10-14 (they redirected to the homepage), so this guide gives no Augason kit prices or calories.

See the 3-Month Emergency Food Supply

FAQ

How many calories should a survival food kit provide per day?

FDA's general reference is 2,000 calories a day per person. My Patriot Supply says its kits average 2,000+ per day; others list 1,888 or about 1,732. Needs vary with age and activity.

How do I know how many people a kit feeds?

Divide the kit's total calories by your household's daily calories. Company claims such as "family of four for 3 months" depend on the calories per person they assume.

Is a longer shelf life always better?

Not necessarily. The claim is the company's own statement, with storage conditions. A kit you will rotate or use within a few years does not need the longest date.

Are the cheapest kits per calorie the right choice?

Cost per 1,000 calories is one measure. Taste, variety, preparation water, storage space and return terms also matter, and the cheapest on one measure may not fit another.

Sources

• FDA, Calories on the Nutrition Facts label, read 2026-10-14
• Ready.gov, Food, read 2026-10-14
• Ready.gov, Water, read 2026-10-14
• My Patriot Supply, 4-Week Emergency Food Supply, read 2026-10-14
• My Patriot Supply, 3-Month Emergency Food Supply, read 2026-10-14
• My Patriot Supply, 1-Year Emergency Food Supply, read 2026-10-14
• My Patriot Supply, Shipping and returns, read 2026-10-14
• My Patriot Supply, Warranty program, read 2026-10-14
• Be Prepared, 3-Month 1-Person Emergency Food Kit, read 2026-10-14
• Be Prepared, 1-Month Emergency Food Kit, read 2026-10-14
• Mountain House, 1-Year Emergency Food Supply, read 2026-10-14

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