[roj]

look at it as an investment in having another/better way to preserve everything. Years ago I looked into the long term food buckets of mac and cheese and dried fruit and all that. To have a 1 year supply for a family of four, in order to get through the apocalypse or some sort of long term grid down no food kind of disaster, it would cost well over $5k. I was trying to rationalize it as “food insurance” and we all pay a fortune for Insurance that we will never use, (car, home, life, medical etc) year after year. At least with buckets of long term food we can always just eat it, since it lasts 25+ years, right? But after really looking into it, most of the stuff sold for long term food storage, is empty calories, of pasta, rice and cream of something, along with some fruit and tang. No real protein. While this will keep you alive, its a lot of money for substandard food, and again no proteins in the typical packages offered. I’m not saying it doesn’t have its place, but if SHTF I’m pretty sure bland food will not make it better. So a freeze dryer costs less than the expense of a kit for four people for a year. Best part is, that preserving food from the garden its fresh and mostly free. Throw in leftovers and before you know it, you’re trying to throw everything into this thing. Having freeze dried HOME COOKED meals when the SHTF is WAY better than cheesy pasta or chicken flavored rice with no chicken in it. Also, many of the things in the long term packages, you can get locally at the grocery store for less money if you really look at basic ingredients. A freeze dryer is another whole level of food preservation, and preserves food longer than canning, its lighter, and maintains more nutrition. If you can afford one, you wouldn’t regret it.