Emergency food buckets compared: calories per serving and per dollar
Buckets are usually sold by the number of servings. But a serving can be anything from a small drink mix to a full entrée, so the serving count tells you little about how much food is inside. Here are the 8 buckets we track, by calories.
| Bucket | $ per 2,000 kcal | kcal per serving | Servings | Days of food | Price | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy 120 Serving Breakfast Bucket | $12.59 | 437 | 120 | 26.2 | $330.00 | Label total |
| Legacy 120 Serving Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Bucket | $16.04 | 405 | 120 | 24.3 | $390.00 | Label total |
| Legacy 120 Serving Entree Bucket | $17.45 | 381 | 120 | 22.9 | $399.00 | Label total |
| ReadyWise 60 Serving Entree Bucket | $17.54 | 209 | 60 | 6.3 | $110.00 | Label total |
| ReadyWise 52 Serving Prepper Pack Bucket | $19.07 | 182 | 52 | 4.7 | $89.99 | Label total |
| Legacy 60 Serving Entree Bucket | $20.09 | 390 | 60 | 11.7 | $235.00 | Label total |
| Valley Food Storage Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Bucket | $26.22 | — | — | 7.6 | $199.95 | Label total |
| ReadyWise 120 Serving Emergency Food Supply | $26.89 | 205 | 120 | 12.3 | $329.99 | Label total |
What stands out
- Calories per serving range from 182 to 437 (ReadyWise 52 Serving Prepper Pack Bucket and Legacy 120 Serving Breakfast Bucket). A "serving" isn't a standard amount.
- The cheapest bucket per calorie is Legacy 120 Serving Breakfast Bucket at $12.59 per 2,000 calories, 2.1× cheaper than the most expensive one we track.
- "Days of food" is for one adult at 2,000 calories a day. A 120-serving bucket is often far less than 120 meals' worth of calories.
More on this: servings vs calories and Legacy vs ReadyWise.
Prices are list prices on each brand's store, checked November 8, 2026. They change often, and sales are common.