Legacy Food Storage 120 Serving Emergency Food Supply Bucket, 15 Entrees, 45,720 Total Calories, Shelf Stable Lunch & Dinner, Freeze Dried Survival Meals for MRE Camping, Hiking, Prepping

I received my 2nd bucket. The 1st was purchased maybe less than a year ago. This 2nd order was the first one that I opened the bucket to inspect all contents (opening bucket does not affect the shelf life, unless packages inside are compromised, so I'm told). After inspecting all packages individually I was satisfied that they were all sealed properly and no visible damage. There was a small amount of fine dust that was reminiscent of the smell of lipton cup a noodles smell, if you know that smell. I couldn't locate any source of the powder, and after having inspected the packaging I was comfortable that it wasn't from any of my sealed packets in my order. The open bucket did have a "food" flavoring smell due to the dust, but closing bucket securely fixed that issue.After inspecting both buckets I decided to try one of the meals to evaluate portion size and flavor, as well as ease of preparation. Obviously heat and water are the key components in preparing this. I opened the Pasta Alfredo and removed the oxygen absorbing packet. After boiling the 6 cups of water for the full four serving packet, I stirred in the contents and brought to a boil and reduced heat to low (the recommended medium heat caused it to boil over, so I kept our gas stove turned to low and then covered for 15 minutes). After the recommended time it seemed a little liquidy so I decided to keep on a couple of more minutes and also after removing from heat I let sit for 8 minutes instead of the recommended 5 minutes, after which it was ready to serve to my two kids and myself to sample.The smell was very good, and one of the kids mentioned it smelled like we were in one of their favorite Italian type pasta restaurants. I did not add any extra flavorings since I wanted to try it in its most basic form, knowing I could add flavor to future preps in the future if necessary. The taste was good. Especially for meals prepared for outdoor camping and survival purposes. I would personally doctor it up with maybe some garlic powder and some salt to add flavor, and may do something like tabasco for the leftovers of this first batch....however I can see why Legacy won taste tests for long term storage food. It's taste is better than I would demand for survival type food. The portion was good and in a food shortage situation this one packet would serve as a acceptable sized meal for our family of four. I think also I would like to purchase some of the freeze dried meat to complement the buckets of entrees I purchased, and will do so possibly in the future. But this product would still be good to have without the meat purchased to add. I have no plans to sample any of the other entrees at this time, but feel comfortable that they will be in line in terms of quality and taste with the one I did try, and that is enough for me. Since my youngest is picky and already ate breakfast prior to this sampling, the fact that he asked for more 2x lets me know that this is pretty good affirmation of the taste quality.I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, so "food security" in times of crisis is a bigger issue than I think many consider. I am glad to have acquired this and hope that no circumstances arise that would require me to rely on this. But since I have it I am much more comfortable that I am giving my family a better chance of riding out a time period where food availability may be an issue until further "help" can arrive to us. Especially in this global political environment and the leaders we now have, you can never tell when problems that may force us to consider food provisions may arise. The only issue I can see with this is if there is limited or no access to water and fire/heat for the food preparation. Aloha.

Good food, handy size to store.

After doing much research trying to decide which freeze dried food packs I would try, I chose Legacy for several reasons.1. 25 year shelf life2. Large portions3. Price, original price vs shelf life expense4. TasteBoth items arrived in less than a week in perfect condition. I was surprised that the tubs were in a cardboard box within a cardboard box. Not sure why the double boxing. A waste of resources in my book.I took one of the packages out, examined it, checked the cooking instructions, then went to the kitchen to put these foods to the taste test. Product cooked in the time indicated on the envelope, 12 to 15 minutes on a gas stove. After letting it set for the 5 minute recommended time, I put some in a bowl and dug in. I was very please with the taste. Not the best that I have ever had, but far and away much better than meals I have cooked or had cooked for me. Being by myself right now, the four servings in the package were more than enough to meet my needs. I enjoyed having left overs for three more meals.Having tasted the one meal and getting ready to try another later today, I personally believe that these freeze dried meals will are above and beyond many that are out there for sale at higher prices for less than what you get in a Legacy food pack. Four servings is the right size for my needs. I will use these to supplement my meals in the near future while keeping some aside for possible emergency. Further I will soon be ordering more to eat and save as Legacy has earned my trust regarding these freeze dried meals. I also recommend these meals to anyone wanting to supplement their current meals or keep these reserved for possible SHTF events in the possible future.

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We've tried samples from many different sources. As a result we have concluded that Legacy emergency food is the best. The price is fantastic for the quality of the food we have received. I recommend Legacy to my friends and co-workers constantly and will continue to do so.Thank you guys for simply doing a great job.JimBoston MA

I ordered this in September or 2016 and immediately tried a couple of meals to see what I thought. They were more than satisfactory so I put them away and set a calendar reminder to try something from the bucket 5 years later. Well, today is that day and I chose the Italian Pasta with Marinara packet. When I opened it actually smelled kind of old and the marinara sauce powder was dark brown instead of the expected dark red I am familiar with for tomato sauce type powders.While cooking/reconstituting it also smelled old and the sauce mix did not fully dissolve, it remained grainy-like. The pasta was oddly stained by it as well. Being the brave soul that I am, I tasted it. It was awful. Not simply bland or weird tasting but absolutely nasty tasting. A combination of stale and oddly burnt tasting. To put it in perspective, I have 8-year-old MRE's (beyond the expiration date) that smell and taste far better.I don't know what happened over 5 years as it has never been stored above 76 degrees. I now wonder what the other entree items will be like and I guess I have no choice but to start opening and trying them which will be wasteful and defeat the purpose of why I purchased this.At this time, I cannot recommend this product.

Looks good on the outside. When the emergency takes place I will look inside and then taste it. If possible I will "then" re-rate this. This is our 2nd order, so I do believe the ratings all ready given.