Do you think I’m crazy for buying a Harvest Right freeze dryer for $4000?
I want to share why I am so passionate about how amazing I think freeze drying can be. Around 2010 my husband and I decided to prepare to feed our family in case of disaster or emergency. We try to have at least a 3 month supply of food on hand in our pantry and freezer. This gives us peace of mind that our family won’t go hungry if he loses his job or there is a disruption in the food supply.
We began to adopt a prepper mentality and started thinking long-term. What if the disruption to the food supply wasn’t temporary? What if he lost his job and couldn’t find a new one? What if there was a total economic collapse and life as we know it was over?
Taking it a step further.
That led us to buy packaged freeze dried food. We started with a 1 year supply of meals for 1 person for $2160.
Then 6 months later we purchased an additional 2-year supply of entrees only for $3835. (3 people @1 meal per day)
That brought our total for 3 people to almost $6000. It’s hard to say exactly how long that would last because 1 order was for 3 meals per day for 1 adult and another order was for 1 meal per day for 3 adults. However, in an emergency situation, we would start rationing immediately to make that food last as long as possible. What I wanted to illustrate to you was that we spent $6000 in 6 months for food that isn’t necessarily food that we love.
I would like to point out 1 very important rule that I have broken when sharing this with you. NEVER TELL ANYONE HOW MUCH FOOD YOU HAVE STORED. By sharing how important I think it is for our friends and family to build long-term food storage, I have made us a target if there is ever a food shortage. You can let others know that you have a little food stored in case of emergency but don’t let them know how much you have or they will want you to share. Your friend is your friend until their child is hungry and they know you have food.
Back to our journey toward buying a freeze dryer…
We felt pretty good about where we were in our food storage. I promise when you know your family will be fed you will let out a sigh of relief. I was hooked! I found a company called Thrive Life where you could get individual foods in #10 cans rather than entire meals. I signed up as a consultant because I was telling everyone that they should be buying freeze dried food so why not make some commissions from it. (I’m no longer a consultant, but by clicking the link above you can receive 15% off when you order through the Monthly Delivery Service – but keep reading first).
This type of food interested me more than packaged meals for several reasons. First, I could choose the foods that we liked and that I could use in my own recipes. Second, I could use the food now if I wanted. We have a small family of 3 and I felt like we were constantly throwing food away because food would spoil before we could eat it. I wouldn’t use all of the freeze dried food all the time but there were certain foods that made sense to have on hand because I could re-hydrate them when I needed them.
But the individual freeze dried food was expensive. Even though I was able to purchase it at a discount, we were spending $100-$200 each month on freeze dried food. That was an extra $2000 each year for more freeze dried food.
Then we heard about Harvest Right. They had a home freeze dryer that would allow us to freeze dry whatever food we wanted, whenever we wanted, in the convenience of our own home.
But wait… It’s $3899?
At the time that we purchased our freeze dryer there was 1 option available. 1 size, 1 color, 1 vacuum pump.
We had to decide if it was worth spending almost $4000 to buy a freeze dryer after we already spent thousands of dollars on freeze dried food. We had just moved onto our acreage and had 24 chickens. The hens were laying 2 dozen eggs a day and we had a surplus. We didn’t have raised beds or a garden yet but that was in the plan. We knew that we would be growing our own food. Canning was an option but jars of food are bulky and heavy. So we knew that we wanted to have a way to store our homegrown food that was compact and lightweight.
Our conclusion… It was worth the $3899!!!
I will continue to share with you all of the ways that buying a freeze dryer has saved us thousands of dollars since we made the investment. Here is a preview of some of them:
- No more waste. If food is about to go bad it goes into the freeze dryer.
- The garden surplus goes into the freeze dryer. Growing your own food is cheaper and healthier than buying it.
- Buying and cooking in bulk saves money. Extras go into the freeze dryer and we have meals that we love. Meals re-hydrate more quickly than we can go pick up fast food or take-out.
- We will never have to pay for those expensive packaged freeze dried meals and food again.
Ready to Get Started Freeze Drying?
Freeze dry your favorite recipes, foods, snacks, and desserts at home. I have included some great information including what foods you can freeze dry, how to choose the best sized freeze dryer, and all the items you need to be successful in my FREE guide How to Get Started Freeze Drying. In addition to access to this amazing guide, you will be added to my mailing list where I will continue to give you some great information about freeze drying.
Purchase Your Own Freeze-Dryer
I do need to disclose that I am an affiliate partner with Harvest Right. That means that if you purchase a home freezer by clicking on a link from my website I will be compensated. It won’t cost you more and you will be helping me. However, I would recommend the Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryer even if I wasn’t being compensated. My husband and I have been sharing our love of this freeze dryer, as well as freeze-dried goodies, with our friends and family for years. We bought our freeze-dryer before they offered different colors or sizes!
Click on the banner below and check it out for yourself.
Enroll in my online course
Freeze Dry University
In just 10 lessons, learn how to freeze dry shelf-stable food and gain peace of mind that your family will never go hungry.