In Case Of Apocalypse — Costco Sells Emergency Food Buckets

Thanks to the power of the internet, an emergency preparedness product sold at Costco has suddenly gone viral. It all started when cookbook author Jeffrey Eisner shared a video on Instagram captioned "Costco Apocalypse Dinner Kits!" Eisner remarked that he had never before seen anything like what he'd discovered that day. What he found on the shelf was a large black bucket with a red lid, under a label that simply identified it as "emergency food supply." Seeming genuinely perplexed by the idea, he described it as having 132 servings, made to last 25 years, all for $62.99.

Eisner surmised in the video, "I guess this is for when the apocalypse hits, which could be any time now, right; who knows?" Within days of posting, his video had topped two million views, and the story had been picked up by countless media outlets. Now being touted as some sort of zombie survival or doomsday kit, neither the concept nor the product is anything new. Food ration kits have been available for years at places like military surplus and sporting goods stores, online survivalist shops, and yes, even at Costco itself.

The product Eisner shined the spotlight on is made by ReadyWise, which specializes in long-term emergency food, supplies, and storage. Costco sells a number of such kits by other brands, along with the ReadyWise buckets by the pallet. Depending on location, for $2,499.99, its Ultimate Variety Emergency Food Pallet comes with 36 stackable buckets, for a total of 5,400 servings.

The 132-serving kit that Eisner saw is only available to purchase in-store, but Costco's website does ship a 150-serving bucket, which includes most of the same options. It comes with 80 servings of main meals and side dishes, 30 servings of breakfast, and 40 drinks. Each bucket includes dishes like pasta alfredo, cheesy macaroni, creamy pasta with vegetables, chicken noodle soup, brown sugar and maple multi-grain cereal, vanilla pudding, and orange drink. The store version does not come with some of the dishes from the larger bucket, like potato pot pie, granola, or white rice, but has the addition of barbecue beans and Southwest rice and beans.

While you probably don't have to worry too much about an actual zombie apocalypse, there are plenty of realistic reasons to invest in emergency food supplies. Natural disasters — such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods — can knock out electricity and cause supply chain disruptions. Frozen food will last in a power outage for only so long and therefore shouldn't be your only backup plan.

With government and local agencies urging preparedness in disaster-prone areas, the availability of kits like the one at Costco makes it easy to ensure you'll have enough food when you and your family need it most. You don't have to be a doomsday prepper to be ready for the unexpected. These meals aren't just for dire circumstances either; they're also a great solution for camping and backpacking.

The best thing about Costco's emergency food kits is that they're created to provide necessary nutrition such as calories and protein – while also designed to taste good. The buckets are made of strong polyethylene and can be stacked for storage, and the pouches inside are made from airtight, durable, and food-safe mylar. Similar to — but not the same as – military ration MREs, which stands for Meal, Ready to Eat, the ReadyWise meals need to be reconstituted.

Their long shelf life is thanks to being either freeze-dried or dehydrated. You'll need to rehydrate with boiling water and let sit for approximately 15 minutes. Hot water speeds up the process, but the meals can be rehydrated with any temperature of water. So, you'll need water and an optional heating source to make use of the kit — which may not be easy to come by at the end of the world — or after a major disaster. That said, water is as equally if not more important to have on hand in case of emergencies, along with power generators or propane stoves.

As for the actual flavor of the meals, Jeffrey Eisner announced a follow up on the unexpected attention his original reel garnered with what he's calling the "Costco Apocalypse Food Challenge" (per Instagram). As of July 2024, he plans to cook up and review each of the individual meals and report on the results.