Food storage

ReadyWise vs My Patriot Supply: Emergency Food Kits Compared

ReadyWise and My Patriot Supply are the two stores most people meet first when they start buying emergency food, and they sell the same basic thing two different ways. ReadyWise builds around serving counts, entrée variety, and buckets that mix breakfasts, entrées, and drinks. My Patriot Supply's Ready Hour line builds around a stated 2,000+ calories a day, with a wider store around the food: protein kits, seed vaults, and water gear on the same shelf.

This comparison uses only the numbers both brands state in our catalog, checked November 12, 2026: servings, calories, shelf life, price, and the cost per day that falls out of them. No winner is declared, because the right pick depends on whether your household cares more about cost per day, variety, or calories. The table below lines the kits up; the sections after it say plainly where each brand is stronger.

The products, side by side

The 72-hour kits: the cheapest way in

The Ready Hour 72-Hour Food Kit is the least expensive 72-hour kit in our catalog at $34.99: 20 servings in four resealable pouches, rated by the brand at 2,000+ calories a day for one person across the three days. Divided out, that is about $11.66 per day of supply, the lowest cost per day of any 72-hour kit we list.

The ReadyWise 72 Hour Food Kit costs $44.99 and takes the other trade: 30 servings and 5,460 stated calories, rated at 1,820 calories a day, which works out to about $15.00 per day. What the extra ten dollars buys is menu: cheesy macaroni, teriyaki rice, multi-grain cereal, and whey milk, against the Ready Hour kit's four pouches. Both state up to a 25-year shelf life. If the kit lives in a car or a cabin and may never be opened, the Ready Hour math is hard to beat; if your household will judge the whole idea of storage food by this box, the ReadyWise menu is the friendlier first taste.

The month-scale kits: where the real money is

The ReadyWise 1 Month Emergency Food Supply is the biggest single food purchase in this comparison: 326 servings and 62,540 calories across two buckets and 12 varieties, rated at about 2,085 calories a day for 30 days, for $319.99. That is about $10.67 per day, and the up-to-25-year shelf life is stated on the kit.

The My Patriot Supply 4-Week Emergency Food Supply answers with 250 servings across 16 recipes and 56,460 calories, rated at 2,000+ calories a day for 28 days, for $277.95, about $9.93 per day. On the two numbers that matter most at this scale, cost per day and stated calories per day, it is the stronger sheet. Two honest cautions come with it: the brand store quoted a 10 to 12 week shipping time at our check, and the kit's catalog entry does not state a shelf life, where ReadyWise states up to 25 years on its month kit.

ReadyWise also sells the piece My Patriot Supply does not answer directly in our catalog: the 120 Serving Entrée Bucket, 120 entrée servings and 24,540 calories for $329.99, rated at 13 days for one person at 1,800 calories a day. It is the most expensive per day in this comparison, and it exists for people who want entrées only and plan to supply their own breakfasts, sides, and drinks from bulk staples.

Where ReadyWise is stronger

• More food per purchase at the top end: 326 servings and 62,540 calories in the 1 Month Supply, the largest kit in this comparison.
• Shelf life stated on every kit in the table, up to 25 years, so the rotation math is printed before you buy.
• An entrée-only bucket (the 120 Serving Entrée Bucket) for builders who cover breakfasts and sides from cheap bulk staples.
• More servings in the 72-hour kit (30 vs 20), with breakfast items and whey milk in the mix.

Where My Patriot Supply is stronger

• Lower cost per day at both rungs: about $11.66 vs $15.00 at 72 hours, and about $9.93 vs $10.67 at the month scale.
• A higher stated calorie floor: 2,000+ calories a day on both of its kits here, against 1,820 on the ReadyWise 72-hour kit.
• The cheaper first step: $34.99 is the lowest-priced 72-hour kit in our catalog.
• A wider store around the food: the Ready Hour Mega Protein Kit and the Patriot Seeds vault sit in the same catalog, so the protein and production layers can come from the same order.

How to choose

Choose on three numbers, in this order: calories per day first, because a kit rated under your household's real burn is a smaller kit wearing a bigger label; cost per day second, computed the same way for both; and shipping third, because both brands have flagged slow fulfillment, and storage food ordered during a scare arrives after it. Run your household through the food storage calculator before ordering either brand: most families discover their first purchase should be two weeks of food they already eat, with a kit like these as the layer behind it.

Whichever store you pick, the kits compose. A Ready Hour base, a ReadyWise entrée bucket for variety, and a protein kit on top is a legitimate build, and every product named here is priced on its card in the food catalog with the same numbers used in this comparison.

Step-by-step: put it into practice

Tick each step off as you complete it. Your progress is saved on this device.

• Set your calorie target per person per day
• Run the food storage calculator for your household and your days
• Compare cost per day, not serving counts, between the finalists
• Check the shipping note on the brand store before ordering
• Add a protein and variety layer so the base kit stays edible for weeks
• Label and date every bucket when it arrives

Reset checklist

Sources

• Ready.gov, Food guidance for emergencies
• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, food storage guidance

Facts checked against the sources above. Last verified: November 11, 2026. If a figure here ever conflicts with an official source, the official source wins, and we want to hear about it via the contact page.