Jul 20 2008
Is Precious Time in a Disaster Worth More than $5.63 per Hour?
You may look at freeze dried food, even when it is a lowly $2.90 per meal as an expensive luxury.
After all, for $1000 to $1200 you can purchase bulk food in 5 gallon pails of either staples or dehydrated food that will last an individual one year or a family of four for 3 months.
Compare that to the “expensive” $3375 for a “Platinum Food Reserve” of freeze dried food.
Obviously the bulk food is a better deal.
Or is it?
Consider the preparation time and effort if you cook bulk food from scratch for 4 people for 3 months. This time could be extremely valuable, in a disaster, that could be used on other tasks that may be much more critical.
Cooking for 3 months using staples and dehydrated food works out to an extra 364 hours (see note at bottom) over using freeze dried food. Divide the $2000 difference in cost, and it works out that your effort is worth $5.63 per hour.
Is that $5.63 you save today on your food reserve worth the priceless hours you may put to better use?
But hold on, it gets even worse for the canned staples and dehydrated route. You will either have to use that food regularly with associated preparation effort in order to keep your food reserve fresh, or you have to accept throwing out your canned bulk food reserve after a few years and replacing it. Freeze dried food on the other hand can store for 25 years according to Mountain House.
In the end if you include this likely replacement cost, your extra 364 hours effort could be valued at less than $1 per hour, does that sound like the better deal now?
You decide.
(NOTE: For cooking using staples and dehydrated foods; If you spend 1 hour cooking and cleaning up for breakfast, 1.5 hours for lunch and 2 hours for dinner or 4.5 hours per day, 7 days a week for 13 weeks that will total 409.5 hours. Subtract the 30 minutes total a day on the other hand that you will spend preparing meals with freeze dried food, so you get the difference of 364 hours)
Published under Freeze Dried Food, Survival Food, Survival Food Reserves, dehydrated food, nitro-pak
[...] Read the rest here: Is Precious Time in a Disaster Worth More than $5.63 per Hour? [...]
[...] have previously shown the cost of bulk staples is deceptive once you factor in the cost of cooking and preparing meals. You need effort, equipment, more time, [...]