East Texans rediscover preserving to stretch food budgets amid inflation woes

UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - With inflation and rising food prices, what can East Texans do to cut the costs of their grocery bill?

A growing trend is drying and preserving.

One particular machine is flying off the shelves at Sasquatch Trading Post in Gladewater: a food freeze drying machine.

“All of the freeze dryers that we are scheduled to get in today are spoken for. Every single one of them,” says trading post worker Sam Pospychala.

Why?

“Prices. Food prices. People are finding ways to keep food in their house without having to over buy,” Sam says.

East Texans like Kim King have discovered cutting food costs through freeze-drying.

“I was looking at preserving food, dehydrated foods and canned foods before, this piqued my interest,” she says.

Leftovers usually end up in containers in the back of the refrigerator with mold on them.

But with this method, they can be preserved for many more meals in the future.

“A lot of times we have leftovers. And now I’ve found I can freeze dry my leftovers,” King says.

And save foods for months, even years.

“Freeze dried they can last 25 years. It’s as fresh as when you put it in. My batches take about 24 hours,” Kim says.

You can preserve fruits and vegetables and certain meats, even ice cream.

And for King, she’ll never throw out food again.

“I don’t have to worry about it going bad, because I can freeze dry it. It really helps us,” she says.

The freeze dryers are a substantial investment to start, ranging from $2,200 to $3,300, depending on the size of the units.

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