Benefits of Freeze Dried Food Storage Over Bulk

benefits-of-freeze-dried-food-storage

With the value of the dollar decreasing over time and the price of food rising, storing a decent amount of food is a valuable move. “Saving” money that could have been spent on food storage is worth less, because over time its value will depreciate, while the value of food is rising. There are numerous situations where food storage could save you and your family’s lives, so making the decision to stock up now is very wise.

Here are some things to consider when trying to choose between bulk food items and freeze dried meals.


 

Freeze dried meals can prove more cost effective

Not having to rotate your food storage as often means you won’t end up paying extra money to replenish food in your stock. The long life (up to 30 years) of freeze dried food storage makes it a more hassle-free option.

 

They last longer

You probably don’t want to spend a lot of time each week worrying about your food storage. Freeze dried meals give you the assurance that your family will be provided for in an emergency, without the constant pressure that bulk food storage can be.

 

They’re more durable

Because they’re so tightly sealed and designed to be stored in basically any environment, freeze dried meals can be more practical than bulk food items, which are prone to perishing. They’re usually vacuum packed or have other similar systems that prevent oxidation of their contents. This prevents your food from spoiling, and also makes it able to withstand light and moisture in the air, unlike a lot of bulk foods.

 

They’re easier to prepare and enjoy

Buying buckets of wheat is all very well, but how many of us actually know what we’d do with that wheat in an emergency? Most people don’t want to be faced with grinding and eating wheat every day in a disaster. Freeze dried food allows you to still eat normal types of meals, which don’t require the annoying preparation of a lot of bulk food items.

 
The good news about freeze dried food storage is that it’s relatively healthy. Freeze dried berries, for example, retain 90% of their cancer-preventing anthocyanins. Food scientists say that most freeze-dried food has similar nutritional value to fresh food; and as good nutritional is probably even more important in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency, that’s pretty exciting to hear!

Augason Farms is a supplier of long lasting food storage and emergency preparedness products, and focuses on producing freeze-dried meals that actually taste good, while having a shelf life of up to 30 years.

16 Comments

  1. I include freeze dried food as part of my overall food storage plan. The key is diversity, and freeze dried has it’s place and benefits. Augason Farms is an excellent source among the many that are out there.

  2. I have only purchased a few FD goods, one is the milk, which I put up for long term. After reading the reviews from Emergency Essentials milk, I thought I’d try it to see if I was going to like it. Wow, at about $2.20 per 1/2 gallon and I thought it was just as good as my 1% from the store and I think milk is about $3.50. Definitely give it a try.

  3. The only freeze dried I bought was broccoli to seal with the broccoli/cheddar soup in my mason jars. It’s ‘Bear Creek’ and I love it.
    Just had it for lunch.

    The cheese and buttermilk may be freeze dried also.
    So, there. 3 things total.

  4. And those # 10 cans are broken down and re-sealed in mason jars by many preppers/survivers/’getting ready for the fan’ folks.

    1. Why would anyone want to move food from a sturdy can to a glass container before the SHTF? I understand why it would be desirable after the can is opened for use.

      1. 1) smaller quantities ensures less waste
        2) mason jars vacuum sealed may last as long as the #10 cans–no one knows yet.

        1. Drop any glass container. Might break. Small pieces of glass as a side order? Yum.

  5. The bulk of our DH and FD foods in #10 cans are from Emergency Essentials. We also have used the LDS store, Augason, and one or two others like Rainy Day. Our bulk purchases are done when they go on sale and we will buy 6 or 12 of one item. In time, they stack up and can’t be beat for extra long-term food storage. We have never regretted our DH and FD food purchases and really do consider it to be “food security” beyond our gardens and livestock.

    We’ve had some of these foods already, mostly to sample or to learn how to cook with (think Sour Cream powder) and can’t complain about the quality at all. In fact, there are a couple of things that we now only buy in the #10 cans — our favorites are the banana chips and DH refried bean flakes. I either make the beans from scratch or I use them from a #10 can.

    We don’t have much dehydrated dairy foods because we have dairy goats but we do have a small amount of dried milk, dehydrated sour cream, and some canned butter and cheese.

    Aside from growing some of our own fruits, having #10 cans of fruits gives us the security of knowing we will have fruits year round if the S hits. And yes, we also consider these foods to be an excellent investment with better, guaranteed returns than anything available aside from Precious.

  6. The supermarket has many dried items in mylar? pouches. Would these items be ok as is or would opening the pouch carefully, inserting an oxygen absorber and reheat sealing be best?

    Anyone know anything about this approach?

    It seems like a good deal for those of us on a tight budget or just getting started.

    1. The dried fruit that I see at Safeway is dehydrated. Quite spendy. Not packaged for the long term. They don’t need to add sugar. Removing water has the same effect.

  7. We get most of our FD from Emergency Essentials. They have been around for years. Early on we bought from many different companies. Many are no longer around, with good reason. Some of products we bought were thrown out for the animals because the taste was awful. Now we stick with Mountain House or Emergency Essentials. If your not sure about a company just buy a couple of smaller sizes to try out before you make a large purchase. Some even have sample sizes you can buy.

  8. Four words: Thrive freeze dried pineapple. My name is Tex, and I am an addict.

  9. Remember–you will need more water to reconstitute the food. It’s probably a good idea to have some food that requires little or no preparation for the early days of any emergency.

  10. Some time ago someone commented on buying used FD’ing equipment but I cant remember the post or where they said to look. I’ve looked online and craigslist and can’t find much. I would like to make alot of my preps FD but the cost is such that if you don’t do it at home its not feasible. Any ideas?

    1. Thanks for the info, definitely see your point. Was hiking in southern Mo or would have gotten back sooner, thanks again

  11. Can I store freeze dried packages (Wise food, mountain house etc.) in freezer (28F) without any damaging effects to storage life, packaging etc and get the same benefits as storing @ 55F? I have filled the extra fridge but have more space in the freezer.
    Thanks

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