Water, food, and shelter are the three most basic requirements to staying alive. They are also typically the three scarcest necessities available when it comes to natural disasters caused by earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, or other emergencies. The FSD Food, Fire, Filter Bucket will give you a fighting chance during any natural disaster.

One of the best ways to be prepared for those scenarios is to stockpile emergency supplies such as food, water and gear/equipment. The 72-hour emergency kit by Food Supply Depot is a great way to get started when building an emergency survival kit for your home and family.

The food included in this kit consists of 1 pouch of each of the following: Artisan Oatmeal (4 servings), Harvest 6 Grain Cereal (4 servings), Texan Sunrise Skillet (4 servings), Instant Milk Powder (4 servings), Orange Drink Powder (8 servings), Nantucket Potato Soup (5 servings), Rotini á la Marinara (5 servings), & Rio Grande Beans & Rice (3 servings). This is easily enough food for a family of 3 to stay well fed for 72 hours. During a potentially long lasting emergency survival scenario, the food in this kit can keep you alive for weeks if rationed properly.

I have used similar meals on backpacking trips. Even though they may not taste exactly like they came from a 5 star restaurant, they definitely taste quite good. This is especially true when you are tired, cold and hungry after a long day of exerting yourself. If I were forced to be picky and asked to try to improve upon the included food, I would merely like to have some sealed freeze dried fruit, peanut butter packets, and some butter crackers to provide some snacking options.

This kit also comes with the following items to help you prepare your meals: a cook pot with detachable handle, pocket knife/fork/spoon tool, 8 oz. measuring cup, lightweight portable cooking stove/grill, a box of waterproof matches, 6 pouches of Insta-fire fire starter, a 23 pc. First Aid kit, and even a water bottle with a built-in water filter. To top it off, all this gear comes in a sturdy square bucket with a comfortable built-in handle.

When it comes to emergency survival gear, I feel it’s better to have a wide variety. A few things I would have liked to see included in this kit are as follows: long shelf-life sealed emergency water pouches, chemical glow stick, compass, signal mirror, whistle or compressed air horn, emergency strobe light, rain ponchos, emergency Mylar thermal blankets, solar hand crank AM/FM/NOAA weather band radio, solar waterproof flashlight, latex gloves and a quick-clot trauma pack for the First Aid kit. Luckily, these are all things you can easily find at any camping gear, military surplus, or online store.

What makes this emergency kit such a great investment is its long shelf life. If stored in a cool dry environment, the included food can last for 20 years. When that expiration date starts to approach, I suggest eating these meals on your next camping trip. I recently cracked open an old emergency food and water kit that was about to expire. I was greatly impressed with how edible the food still was. I’m sure the FSD Food, Fire, Filter Bucket , 72-hour Emergency kit will perform equally admirably near the end of its shelf life. Bottom line, this emergency kit comes with a great selection of food/drink, all the accessories needed for cooking that food, utensils for eating it, a nice little first aid kit, a great water bottle filter, and an impressive 20-year shelf life. If you are looking to build a collection of emergency survival gear that you can trust with your life, the 72-hour FSD Food, Fire, Filter Bucket Emergency kit is the perfect first step.