Augason Farms Coupons September 2023

How to Get Emergency Foods for less from Auguson Farms

The luxury bunker business is on the rise these days and features everything you can think off – infinity pools, 30-car garages, and access to water supply. That’s all good, but what will you eat in those luxury safe-houses?

Emergency food business is also on the rise as people feel less safe in our barely stable world. Increasing in numbers and strength natural disasters, political tensions, and economic fears are making more people worried. This is why major retailers dedicate more and more space on their shelves for emergency foods and supplies. Some stuff is hard core FEMA-style ready-to-eat foods, while others are more leisure-like camping meals. And then there are downright fancy options, like Augason Farms ‘Turkey Feast Pail’ that features freeze-dried turkey and all other Thanksgiving meal staples that are good for years.

Utah-based Wise Co. sells Wise Foods and has seen a double increase in sales recently. According to the company, yearly emergency food business is at $400 million per year.

The variety of available emergency foods is great, but before you rush to stock-up, you need to know if all the offerings taste good and fit in your luxurious bunker. Bloomberg tested products from Wise Foods, Mountain House, and Emergency Essentials LLC to determine how they compare. Most meals have been popular for years and can make you feel like you are entering a time machine with something like stroganoff or chicken a la king.

All three tested companies carry some version of Chili Mac and Teriyaki Rice, so this is what got tasted. Some of them have real meat, while others offer textured vegetable protein instead, some are very independent and some sell competitors’ foods on their site – Emergency Essentials stocks Mountain House. So let’s take a look:

Mountain House

You can take their stuff to the Burning Man or to the mountain camping trip. Their packages look good, can double as cooking containers, and the list of ingredients is rather short.

Mountain House Chili Mac with Beef

Taste is great with large elbow macaroni, ground beef, and kidney beans floating in a savory sauce. It still tastes good after a few hours.

The looks are also not disappointing – it’s like a meal prepared by a personal chef.

Preparation is very simple – just add boiling water.

It’s not depressing with very affordable nutrition - $2 for 230 calories per serving.

Mountain House Chicken Teriyaki

The taste is as expected - sweet and soy flavored. The appearance is inviting with colorful vegetables and chunks of chicken. Chicken tastes real.

It makes you feel as if you are eating a chicken and rice meal at an average restaurant. All you have to do to make this meal in times of stress is to open the package and pour hot water in.

$3 and 230 calories per serving.

Wise Company

These guys are the experts in all things emergency -from solar backpacks to starter kits. Food is packaged in tough packages with easy to follow directions. We have found that these meals are the most cost-efficient.

Teriyaki Rice

It tastes a bit like orange juice and quite sweet. It reminds of Hawaii with small pieces of vegetables and chicken-like textured vegetable protein. Rice gets well cooked and tastes OK.

It looks like a sloppy side dish. It requires a pan for mixing with hot water, which might not always be available, let alone water for clean-up, so points taken away for user-friendliness. It won’t be your best meal, but adequate in most emergency situations.

$3.90 for 270 calories per serving.

Chili Mac

Not something you could be craving – bland, a bit sweet, red color, chemical taste, no real beef, mushy pinto beans and mushy pasta.

It looks better than it tastes with vibrant color and visible elbow macaroni.

A dish is required for making.

The best thing about it – it’s cheap and is only $1.10 for 240 calories per serving.

Emergency Essentials

They are not joking about emergency preparedness and sell water filtration systems and food storing buckets. They sell Mountain House foods and consider them best. They do have some of their own stuff too, like butter powder or shelf-stable bacon.

Chili with Beef Crumbles

If you want to enjoy your meal, you should add some salt there right away and also add another package of beef crumbles. You will get a very soupy consistency, but plenty of kidney bean flavor.

This soupy chili has to be cooked for 15 minutes, so it might not be the best choice in many emergency situations.

It’s pretty rich with $3.20 for 390 calories per serving.

Teriyaki Rice

This meal is extremely sweet and can double as dessert. The rice tastes good and you will have a pleasure to encounter small strips of bell pepper and tiny carrot cubes.

It looks shiny and a bit sloppy after you are done with simmering it in a pan for about 10 minutes.

It’s cheap: $1 for 250 calories per serving.