No, I havent opened it and never plan to so dont ask me about taste. We live in a tornado prone area on top of a major fault line. This is "just in case something happens." Most of these type foods cost twice as much for mostly rice and powdered milk. I cannot post to quality because, as I said before, I dont plan on opening it.

I bought this a month ago & I'm so happy I did. It was on sale at the time so I got my 1st two buckets of emergency food ever. It was half price at that time. I had a question about it though as there is no production date anywhere on the bucket.After calling the company & speaking to acustomer service representative I was told that the production dates are on the individual packages in the bucket. The representative further told me that this particular bucket was already between 18 & 24 months old when I bought it & was sold to Rural King for $85.So the bottom line is when you buy it from Rural King it "may not" have that full 25 year shelf life though you are getting it for a much lower cost than purchasing directly from Ready Wise who produces this emergency ... MoreI bought this a month ago & I'm so happy I did. It was on sale at the time so I got my 1st two buckets of emergency food ever. It was half price at that time. I had a question about it though as there is no production date anywhere on the bucket.After calling the company & speaking to acustomer service representative I was told that the production dates are on the individual packages in the bucket. The representative further told me that this particular bucket was already between 18 & 24 months old when I bought it & was sold to Rural King for $85.So the bottom line is when you buy it from Rural King it "may not" have that full 25 year shelf life though you are getting it for a much lower cost than purchasing directly from Ready Wise who produces this emergency food.A little research tells one a lot. I have not actually tried any of the food yet but believe it is fine. When I do I am told buy the manufacturer that it makes no difference if you open the bucket or not the shelf life is in the individual packets, the buckets are just an easy stackable storage container for those packet.When I do open one I will be doing a serious scrutinization of the packaging. This mainly will consist of the seal & a flashlight test. The flashlight test is making certain that "NO LIGHT" from a very bright flashlight passes through the mylar packages that this food product is packaged in. If light passes through it then IT WILL NOT IN ANYWAY HAVE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO A 25 YEAR SHELF LIFE. Which is why people buy this stuff to begin with.So be aware of what you are buying, inspect it for production dates & open a packet or two & test is for taste & test it the packaging with a flashlight. If ANY light passes through the "must be a mylar" package then return it & get your money back.

Comparing emergency meals

I don't know what to rate this actually because I'm doing my research before purchasing. But I will say this. I was looking at the content of each meal and most of them appeared to be more like a "side dish" rather than any main meals here. Am I wrong? I mean, most of us when we eat some mac and cheese are usually eating it with the actual meat dish or something. Where's the substance? There are an awful lot of carbs and less protein from what I read is in the box. I can purchase a LOT of Kraft mac and cheese and Knorr Swiss alfredo for an AWFUL lot cheaper than $150!!!! And a bigger tote to boot!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you like veggies

It serves it purpose.... No meat what so ever. Unlike MREs, you have to add boiling hot water to it. It would be nice if they included a heating element... But that's the trade off....you buy 12 MREs for about the same price of this bucket... But at least this a 60 servings. But the packs are about 4 servings each.You have to do some real calculating if you trying to plan for a family...GOD help you if you are diabetic. Talk about carb count.As a type 2 diabetic... You just have to balance it out.If this goes on sale again, I may pick up another bucket or two...but I wouldn't break the bank over it.

Not bad if you're snowed in.

This product serves it's purpose well. The bucket it arrives in is sealed and very portable, and stores well in an out-of-the-way area, like the closet or under the sink. The meals are all neatly stacked, and easily accessible. As with most freeze dried meals, the taste is questionable. You won't get a "fresh off of the stove" taste, but for what the product is, the taste is favorable (Bean and rice was my favorite).If you're thinking of storing these in a Bug Out Bag, or what have you, I'd go with other pre-packaged meals/food stuffs around this site. Each bag that I've looked at takes four (4) cups of water to prepare, and it's suggestible to do so over the stove. I don't believe that these meals were made to be cooked in the bag, seeing as the bag only weighs ... MoreThis product serves it's purpose well. The bucket it arrives in is sealed and very portable, and stores well in an out-of-the-way area, like the closet or under the sink. The meals are all neatly stacked, and easily accessible. As with most freeze dried meals, the taste is questionable. You won't get a "fresh off of the stove" taste, but for what the product is, the taste is favorable (Bean and rice was my favorite).If you're thinking of storing these in a Bug Out Bag, or what have you, I'd go with other pre-packaged meals/food stuffs around this site. Each bag that I've looked at takes four (4) cups of water to prepare, and it's suggestible to do so over the stove. I don't believe that these meals were made to be cooked in the bag, seeing as the bag only weighs 9.2 dry ounces, and the meal takes about 32 ounces of water to prepare (And the bags don't seem to be seal-able).Overall, this "Bucket o' Food" is a great addition to anyone's supply closet or surplus cache, although I don't see anyone needing more than the 240 serving bucket (Which comes with breakfast food and soup, where as this one doesn't). Price wise, it's decent. Some places are higher, some are lower, but for the quality of the food and the taste, the price is well worth it. If anything, at minimum, the peace of mind is well over the cost. :) I would highly suggest this product for anyone to have.

Not tasty

I used this on a mountain elk hunt and the guys wouldn't eat it. I brought it home and my family wouldn't eat it. I took it to work and my co-workers wouldn't eat it.It serves its purpose but you are better off with any brand grocery store instant noodles, even if you have to bring butter along.Ok for an emergency situation but I would choose mountain house if you plan to eat it. Doesn't have many calories either.

Ready wide freeze dried food

This food is not recommended to take on a back country elk hunt. I bought some for our hunt and didn’t figure out how bad it tasted till it was too late. Do not buy for hunting but it would probably work as emergency food

Saltiest meals I have ever tasted

I would not recommend this product. Do not waste money on these terrible meals. I bought this as a last resort for backcountry camping this weekend and we only ate 3 of the meals out of the 10 we brought. Each meal was salty, lacked any type of protein (everything is chicken flavoured), the portion sizes were too small (they have 4 servings per bag), and calories are not sufficient per serving size. I am used to buying camping food at camp outfitters and these are the worst I've ever tried.I am returning the item opened so they have let me exchange it for store items of the same value which will be a challenge since they do not allow store credit. It is a real shame because I shop at this spot all the time and was hoping that this would at least be decent.

Very good camping food!

We recently bought the package for our camping trip in Iceland and we are very pleased with the products! We haven't tried all of them yet, but the ones we tried are very tasty and satisfying after a long day in the outdoors. It's super easy to prepare and light to carry. The only downside of it is that each food comes in 4-serving portions and as we were just 2 we had to split the portions before cooking them. Half of the 4-serving portion was enough for the 2 of us for each meal.

Wise Foods Entree Bucket

They are actually quite tasty as far as this type of freeze dried and dehydrated food is concerned. Great for camping and nice to know I have it for an emergency. Easy to store. Arrived on time and I used my 20% off one item coupon for extra savings. Was happy to see that the manufacture date was just a few days before it was shipped. Just be sure you do not confuse "servings" with "meals". Unless your are rationing your food during a survival situation, you should plan to make a "meal" out of a "serving" of entrée with a serving of freeze dried meat to boost the calories and protein, and a serving of their vegetables or fruits. Teenagers on a hike or camping trip tend to make up one packet and eat it all as one meal. Each individual packet in the bucket includes ... MoreThey are actually quite tasty as far as this type of freeze dried and dehydrated food is concerned. Great for camping and nice to know I have it for an emergency. Easy to store. Arrived on time and I used my 20% off one item coupon for extra savings. Was happy to see that the manufacture date was just a few days before it was shipped. Just be sure you do not confuse "servings" with "meals". Unless your are rationing your food during a survival situation, you should plan to make a "meal" out of a "serving" of entrée with a serving of freeze dried meat to boost the calories and protein, and a serving of their vegetables or fruits. Teenagers on a hike or camping trip tend to make up one packet and eat it all as one meal. Each individual packet in the bucket includes four "servings" of one entrée. There is a nice variety of flavors in the bucket. Buy a different bucket each month with your discount coupon and in a few months you will be ready to feed a whole troop any time under almost any conditions.