Emergencies can take many forms, from storms to power outages or even the loss of a job. Keeping food on hand for emergencies protects you in the same way as insurance on your home or auto - for the unexpected. With freeze dried foods in your food reserve, you can be ready for just about any unexpected crisis. Imagine, for instance, what a lifesaver these foods can be when electric power is knocked out for several days by a storm or you lose your job for several weeks or months. With freeze dried food on hand and a one-burner stove or candle to heat water (cold water can be used if you have no way to heat your water), you can still enjoya hot, satisfying meal in just 10 minutes. Having a private food reserve makes a lot of sense. Good sense for both financial and emergency security reasons.

Several Advantages of Freeze-dried food
Freeze-drying has several advantages over other food preservation methods.

Frozen foods retain fresh flavor and nutritional value, but require uniform, low temperature storage conditions. Dehydrated and canned foods are shelf-stable, but high-temperature processing can degrade flavor, texture and nutritional content. Freeze-drying combines the best of these processing methods. It preserves freshness, color and aroma similar to frozen food, while providing the shelf-stable convenience of canned or dehydrated food. Freeze-dried foods:
Taste fresh. Freeze-dried foods, like frozen, retain virtually all their fresh-food taste and nutritional content. Freeze-drying removes the water, not the flavor.

Look fresh. Freeze-dried foods maintain their original shape and texture, unlike dehydrated foods, which shrink and shrivel due to high-temperature processing. Freeze-drying removes water under low temperatures (typically a maximum of 100 to 130 degrees F), which keeps intact the moisture channels and food fibers. Just add water, and in minutes every fresh food detail returns.

Weigh less than fresh. Freeze-dried foods have 98% of their water removed. This reduces the food's weight by approximately 90%, making it easier to handle and less costly to ship. For example, twenty-five pounds of celery weigh only one pound after freeze-drying.

Stay fresh. Freeze-dried foods can be stored at room temperature, without deterioration or spoilage. This is because freeze-drying and packaging remove both water and oxygen - the two primary causes of food deterioration