The 12 Best Survival Food Companies of 2020

Formerly wisefoodinsurance.com, Legacy Food Storage specializes in emergency supplies for disaster scenarios: food storage, survival gear, water filtration, and fuel. The freeze-dried, vacuum-sealed food offerings come in heavy-duty buckets that stack for easy storage and have a shelf life of up to 25 years.

Choose from categories including bulk meal packages, gluten-free, and single buckets. You can also shop by food type (proteins, fruits, dairy, veggies, grains, and specialty items), dish (breakfast, entrees, and side dishes), and serving size. From 16-serving sample packs to bulk bundles with a whopping 4,320 servings (enough to feed someone breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for four years).

*Due to increased demand, allow 30 to 50 business days for shipping.

Survival Frog also carries food supplies from multiple brands, like LegacyFoodStorage, Mountain House, ReadyWise, and Survival Cave, so you have plenty of options. Mix and match canned meats from Survival Cave with a Legacy's breakfast bucket and Mountain House's meal pouches. This is great because you and your family will have a variety of options in case of an emergency, and you won't have to visit multiple retailers to get them.

While you're at it, grab some survival tools, radios and energy sources, and first aid kits. Survival Frog is a one-stop-shop that delivers on its tagline, "Preparing Made Easy." Our main gripe is that there doesn't appear to be options designed for different diets, whether gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan.

Mountain House has a long history of producing emergency food supplies for the U.S. Special Forces and today is a top retailer of long-lasting food rations to the civilian market. Frequently praised by reviewers for making tasty rations that are filling and easy to eat on the go, Mountain House is a top brand to consider when shopping for emergency food supplies.

The brand has expanded across all categories of meals, with breakfast, entrée, side, and dessert options. The wide selection of meals makes it easy to build an a la carte food stash for your emergency go-bag. Most of these options are available in pouches that are easy to transport or 10-pound cans that are good for long-term storage. 

The selection of ready-to-go buckets of emergency food supplies is a little more limited—you can choose from a breakfast, classic, or essentials bucket with anywhere from 29 to 32 servings depending on the variety. The Mountain House Classic Bucket includes fan favorites like Beef Stroganoff and Lasagna with Meat Sauce, along with easy-to-eat granola. One other unique offering from Mountain House is their MCW military rations. These are nutrient-dense meals that are intended for consumption under adverse environmental conditions. They have a more limited shelf life compared to conventional emergency food supplies (only 3 years), but they offer upwards of 500 calories and 40 grams of protein per ration. 

Offering a variety of ready-to-go food pails along with a la carte options to stock up on emergency rations, you’ll find a good selection from major brands when you shop BePrepared.

There are plenty of choices from brands like Mountain House, Augason Farms, Emergency Essentials, and more. Find the combination of breakfast, lunch, and dinner fare that works for your appetite and your budget.

You can also shop for deluxe bags stocked with rations that meet QSS standards for calories and protein intake, like the Emergency Essentials Deluxe 72-Hour Food, Water & Gear Pack.

*For available items, allow one to two months of shipping time.

If you’re searching for non-GMO emergency food supplies, Peak Refuel is one to stock up on. The company doesn’t believe in compromising on quality and omits fillers and GMO ingredients. While Peak Refuel is largely aimed towards backpackers and camping enthusiasts, it can be a great option if you’re looking for a high-quality alternative for an emergency food supply. Just know that the shelf life of these premium ingredients is significantly limited compared to conventional emergency food supplies—you’re looking at only a five-year shelf life. However, plenty of people rave about the taste and many people have made these for an at-home meal in a hurry. So if you stock your emergency food supply with Peak Refuel products, just plan to enjoy them before the expiration date.

It’s also worth noting that Peak Refuel meal pouches require less water than many other freeze-dried emergency food supplies, so you can conserve your water supplies.

If you're looking for something specific to take on your next adventure or for emergency preparedness, AlpineAire offers a huge selection of products, from breakfast to dessert to soups and sides, as well as seven-day meal kits. There are also vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.

The seven-day vegetarian meal kit, for example, provides two meal pouches a day for a week and all you need to add is water. The kit is designed to provide an average of 1,200 calories a day. Or you can get meals like lasagna that come in packages with two servings and have a five-year shelf life.

If you’re looking for sustaining and appetizing emergency food supplies, then Augason Farms is a great place to start. This company has been delivering preparedness kits since 1972 and can boast total control over the manufacturing process since all products are made in-house in their Salt Lake City, Utah facility. 

Augason Farms produces emergency food supply kits designed to sustain you anywhere from a short 72 hours to a year or more. All kits come in ready-to-go pails that can be easily transported but also stack neatly in place for compact storage. A selection of Augason Farms products meet the qualifications for Quality Survival Standards (QSS) products. These products provide a minimum of 1,800 calories and 40 grams of protein per day. 

You can shop for Augason Farms emergency food kits directly on the company’s website, but items like the well-equipped 30-Day Emergency Food Storage Pail are available through Amazon. This kit packs 29 pounds of food into an 8.5-gallon pail. It includes 307 total servings and 54,670 calories. This is enough to sustain one person for 30 days at 1,800 calories per day or 4 people at 1,800 calories per day for 7 days. 

My Patriot Supply focuses on supplying accessible and long-lasting emergency food supplies, but also caters to a variety of dietary needs and offers tools to equip you for self-reliance, like a cooking kit, seed vault, and more.

The company offers both short-term emergency food supplies (for three days up to one month) and long-term food supplies (for one month and up to a year or more). The meals will last up to 25 years in storage, regardless of whether you’re shopping for short or long-term emergency food supplies. A good place to start is the 3-Month Emergency Food Supply, which comes in a compact bucket that’s easy to transport and stack. Inside, there are sealed, zipper-top pouches with 852 servings of food. The entrée options are mostly centered on carbs—with dishes like Creamy Chicken Flavored Rice, Buttermilk Pancakes, and Mac and Cheese. Even still, the fact that the pouches can be zipped closed combined with the affordable price point make this kit worth considering. 

My Patriot Supply stands out for offering a gluten-free emergency food supply, along with gluten-free individual entrees available for purchase. The company also has a Mega Protein Kit if you’re looking for a boost of protein in your emergency food supply. The kit includes plenty of beans, as you might expect, but also has 16 servings of the freeze-dried beef and 16 servings of freeze-dried chicken that you can add to other dishes or snack on for a quick protein boost.

*Some new orders may be delayed eight weeks or more, but most will take one to two weeks.

For an emergency food supply that covers all the basics, check out ReadyWise (formerly the Wise Company). This Utah-based supplier offers starter kits of emergency food supplies and a 1-month food supply alongside supersized long-term food caches—like an 18 bucket kit with 2,160 total servings. 

Most people will be interested in the company’s combination buckets, which include both breakfast and entrée options. The 52-serving option includes four different entrees and 2 varieties each of breakfast and beverages. This might be a better option for a single person looking for a kit that stretches beyond the 72-hour mark but would be somewhat limited for two people looking to intake about 1,800 calories per day. 

ReadyWise includes a variety of tasty meal options, with familiar favorites like stroganoff and alfredo pasta alongside interesting options like tortilla soup and brown sugar and maple multi-grain cereal. It’s worth noting that if you’re shopping for gluten-free or only organic emergency food supplies, ReadyWise makes these specialty buckets available as well.

*Delivery may take 14 to 28 days during times of high demand.

Valley Food Storage is aimed at equipping you for short or long-term emergencies with a variety of food kits to suit your situation. The company offers what it describes as Basic and Premium emergency food supplies. Basic buckets of emergency food are intended to deliver about 800 calories per day, while Premium food buckets will sustain you with about 1,800 calories per day. If you plan to shelter in place, the 800 calorie rations may be enough to sustain you, while other preppers advise you to ensure that you have plenty of calories to fuel whatever activity you may need to engage in during a disaster. 

All Valley Food Storage emergency food supplies are produced without the use of GMO ingredients, fillers, and MSG. One unique feature is Valley Food’s Kid Favorites selections, which includes yummy-sounding options like Mac and Cheese, Cheddar Potato Soup, and an abundance of freeze-dried fruits along with other nutritious options. If you’re building an emergency food supply for kids, it makes sense to add some of these trusty staples to your supply. 

*Due to demand, shipping is delayed six to 10 weeks.

Mother Earth Products offers freeze-dried and dehydrated foods that you can use in your everyday life, on a camping adventure, or store long-term for cases of emergency. Choose from a wide variety of vegetables and textured vegetable proteins with an extended shelf life so you can be sure you have nutritious sustenance on hand. There's also freeze-dried fruit (like blueberries, mangoes, and apricots)—with no additives or preservatives—that's perfect for long-term storage, a hiking trip, or for using in your daily smoothie.

The quantities are fairly small, so you can purchase exactly what you want without the huge financial commitment.

For emergency food fare that includes an abundance of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options, check out Backpacker’s Pantry. The company aims to offer gourmet selections of free-dried meals, with dishes like Pad Thai, Katmandu Curry, and Hot Blueberry, Walnuts, Oats & Quinoa cereal. Your taste buds won’t be bored if you fill your emergency kit with these unique options. 

Meat lovers can rejoice to know that it’s not all veggie goodness. The company also offers ready-to-go kits like a Three-Day Carnivore Kit for Two People. This meaty meal plan includes unique dishes like Chiang Mai Coconut Curry with Beef and Cincinnati-style Chili with Beef. You can customize the kit by mixing and matching the entrees to make it just right for your palate. 

*Allow five additional business days for processing and shipping.