so no one has tasted the food in the bucket? I guess no one has one of the auto kits either.

Maybe they'll have food samples one of these weekends at Costco...

As for the auto kit, i take it that it's cheaper than to buy the components separately. I will look at it more closely next time i'm at costco and maybe pick one up.

Nope, I've never tried it.

Although this little discussion has gotten me motivated to go get a new Costco card.

However, If you check the site where you linked us to the info on "The Bucket", they say that they'll send you a sample of all of the meals for $19.95. I think you have to go Products/Emergencies & Disasters, and it's mentioned right after the first contents list.

The trial pack only gives you 5 of the items:

http://www.foodforhealthint.com/disasters.php

"We will send you a variety of five (5) of our food items in their five-serving mylar packages to try for yourself before you make the investment in our product."

It seems like they get to choose which 5...

OK, half of the meals then. My Bad.

Still, it's better than jumping in with both feet and buying the "Big Bucket" only to find that you don't like the meals.

I think most of the time it's better to build your own kit together yourself, picking the best items to suit your particular needs and skills. It's true for survival kits, for first aid kits, etc. For emergency food storage they recommend "eat what you store and store what you eat" and rotate the food. Kind of like planning to eat a little of some "emergency food" every week. In a pinch you can always prepare barbecue seagull thighs, they are easy enough to catch.

BTW here's a good primer on the "eat what you store and store what you eat" concept:

web page

BTW, in a nuclear scenario, just forget about the seagulls, they will be heavily contaminated. You can eat the eggs however.

And tender, too, if you don't overcook them.