Wise Food Company is a business that is selling long term storage foods. And by long term I mean 25 year storage foods. They sell fairly affordable packs for single adults, all the way up to 1 year supplies for a small family. They use the show Doomsday Preppers as a means to get the word out and to advertise by saying "You can try a free sample by mail." Needless to say, I was interested in seeing what they offered, and looked at this as an opportunity to try it and give a review of what I thought about it.
I immediately put in a request for my free sample and about a weeks time I had my package. It was sent in a USPS box mailer. It came much faster than I thought. As expected, it came with a few paper materials about the company and a Doomsday Prepper advert as well.
"Nice packaging, and fast delivery from Wise Co."
It took me a few days to want to eat it. I had been making food for 3 the last few weeks and I enjoy my time cooking. So when I found a night when I didn't want to really get all Mario Batali in the kitchen I decided to make it. The instructions were easy enough. Find a pot, put 4 cups of water in it, boil the water, dump package in. Then the most difficult part was this. Wait 10 - 15 minutes with the heat turned off stirring occasionally. This is the serious easy button food. It basically made itself. And I like that.
At first I was like, "Well it kind of looks like some other stuff I cook in a package..." and it was nearly identical. The only difference was an o2 oxygen absorber and thicker packaging. It had generous portions, stating on the bag that it was enough to serve 4. Since no one else really wanted to eat this per say, I knew I would be the only person to eat it. And I figured it would be proper for a review. As you can see in the picture above, it looks really watery. I wondered what ingredients in had in it to thicken it up. I was really close to throwing flour in it to do the work, but alas I waited the full time of 15 minutes before I tried any Iron Chef techniques.
After the longest 15 minutes of my life, waiting, and anticipating a rather nasty looking "pasta" from Wise Co. This is what it looked like.
It smelled and looked like actual food. And the best part was it required little or no thinking. One pot, one other ingredient, and 15 minutes later... boom I had food. It was like something from biblical times, like the first time Jesus went to a party and made bread, fish, and wine appear out of nowhere. My god, have I become a magician or a religious icon? Where will I build my first place of worship? Can we all wear black? Will my group get a tax exempt status? I had some serious questions to answer, but first I had to eat it.
I admit, I didn't really think it was going to be that good. I didn't have to share, so I had made a small bowl first thinking it was going to be no bueno. It was exactly what it stated it was. Pasta motherfucking Alfredo. It was delicious. It was thick and creamy, the noodles were totally cooked al dente. This was an easy solution to a lazy problem for me at home. But it could be worth much more than that in a crisis situation. The portions were big. I had eaten about half a pack so which broke down into two servings and I was full. I saved the other half and ate it the next day for lunch.
So after everything, Wise Co. nailed this. With it being free and letting me try it I would say if I had the money on hand, I would very possibly buy their products. Just for the FYI, I am not being paid by Wise Co. for this very unorthodox style of reviewing. I am reviewing it for other people to read and figure out if they would want to purchase it or even try a sample maybe.
It isn't like this brand is the only solution, but I will state this upfront. The shit isn't cheap. You can try other brands that make this same type of food with similar packaging, only needing water to make it. Brands like Mountain House is a very capable replacement to this Wise Co. variant. The good thing about brands like Mountain House is that they are available at places like Walmart. They are priced anywhere between $5 - $7 dollars if I remember correctly, per pack. And they offer a 10 year life on the products.
The pricing for Wise Co. brand is steep for your average bear. Lets face it. Were all going broke, working harder for less money, and not much is going to change in the future. The only con to Wise Co. that I can actually see is the price point. For the smallest Grab-and-go kit with 56 entrees, which will last a month for one adult (2 meals a day) is about $2.50 per pack. Yes, its cheaper if you buy more after you figure in shipping this is about how much it cost. Its cheaper than Mountain House that is for sure, but could you do it cheaper? Of course you can.
I think these are all viable options for a typical person if the money is allowed to do it, but I currently pack and store food for short time spans. Were talking 1 - 2 years at most. And cycling the food in and out is easy. I do not have a need, nor that much of a want for 25 year shelf life food. It just isn't necessary for me. Hell, even the 10 year Mountain House foods are not necessary in my setting. For the same caloric content, and very similar (less durable) packaging, I get packs of noodles much like the one I reviewed for .89 - .99 cents. That's right. For less than a buck, I can get a very similar product with just less life span.
And just recently, I found a you tuber that I wish I lived near. We both share a frugal approach to survival food, and storage. He is further proving you do not have to spend a lot of money to be prepared. The price is a strong point to remember, especially if you are trying to make sure you and all your family and friends are ready in a crisis or a time of need.
This video he explains how to make the short term foods (1-2 years) last longer. Its very relevant to this subject and for the fiscally keen prepper. This guy really knows what is going on. And I will be following him for a long time, and will probably watch nearly all of his videos.
If you are well prepared with food like this, in any given crisis you have enough food to sustain until you can get help, or get back home. And all of these options listed above would work for most. Its important to think about it from this perspective. Flood victims had a much better chance being rescued if they had food on hand that they could eat and prepare in the time of need. Your chances for survival and rescue go up dramatically if you are capable and able to sustain for 72 hours. This isn't just about the doomsday scenario people attribute to prepping. It might take days to get help from our servicemen and women and other agencies if a disaster is big enough. Planning for long term is important, but planning for immediate is the same.
Getting started is the hardest part. What I suggest is watching ZombieTactics videos, especially the start of this series I posted and getting in tune with what you can do now, and plan for later. Prepare for immediate use, then go long term as you continue. His series "Food Prep for the Lazy, Late, & Cheap" is chock full of useful information that can save you days worth of studying. His shortcut methods are very similar, damn near identical to my approach. So without me having to show my mug, and give out any info about my identity, I find it easier to link him and support his efforts in making smarter, new preppers for the next generations to come.
As usual. I will post links for more info in the citations section. I was not paid, nor endorsed by any of the companies I mentioned.These are strictly my own opinions, and thoughts. My sharing of them are to help aid in the cause to help others learn about preparing on a budget.
Works Cited
http://wisefoodstorage.com/
http://www.mountainhouse.com/
ZombieTactics youtube page
http://www.youtube.com/user/ZombieTactics?feature=watch
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