Reading a food kit label

A bucket says "30 days". Turn it over. The nutrition panel says 120 servings at 200 calories each. That is 24,000 calories, which is twelve days for one adult, not thirty. The label is not lying, exactly. It is just counting servings, and a serving is whatever the packer says it is.

The only number that matters

Calories. An adult doing ordinary things needs about 2,000 a day. Someone shovelling snow or carrying water needs more. Divide the total calories in the kit by 2,000 and you have the honest number of days. Every card on this site shows that number, and the "covers" sentence under it is built from nothing else.

How to do the maths in the store

1. Find the servings per container and the containers in the kit.
2. Find the calories per serving on the nutrition panel.
3. Multiply the three together for total calories.
4. Divide by 2,000. That is the days for one person.

If the panel is missing or the calories per serving are under 250, the kit is built on drinks, soups and sides. It will not carry a household.

The other things worth reading

Protein per day

Aim for 50 grams or more per day. Rice and pasta kits often land under 20, which leaves people hungry an hour after eating.

Water to prepare

Usually about one cup per serving. More than that and the kit is quietly eating your water supply.

The packed date

Shelf life runs from the day it was sealed, not the day you bought it. A can with no date is a can with no shelf life.

Allergens

Milk, soy and wheat are in most kits. Nut free and gluten free menus exist, and the dietary chips on our Build your supply section show which kits carry them.

Servings are marketing. Calories are food.

What ours say

Each kit page lists total calories, calories per day, protein per day and water to prepare, next to the days figure. The 14 day kit, for instance, is 28,000 calories in six cans, which is exactly fourteen days at 2,000, with 75 grams of protein a day.