8 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 437 



Is Home Freezing Expensive? 



During the past five years we have received many queries as to the expense 

 involved in home freezing. If one is concerned with the economic aspects of 

 home food preservation in terms of the dollars-and-cents cost, it is obvious that 

 home freezing is more expensive than other methods of preservation, such as 

 canning or common storage. 



In figuring the cost of home freezing in a home freezing cabinet, Crowther 

 (3) has suggested that in addition to the electricity required for the operation 

 of the unit, repairs (2 percent of initial cost), depreciation (10 percent of initial 

 cost), and interest on the investment (at 5 percent) should be considered. The 

 packaging cost should also be Included. 



In laboratory tests with a typical home freezing cabinet of 12.5 cubic feet 

 capacity, electricity consumption amounted to an average of 3 kilowatt hours 

 per day. If it is assumed that such a freezer was purchased for $300 and filled 

 once, twice or three times a year with 450 pounds of food in packages of an aver- 

 age size of 2 pounds, the freezing cost may be broken down as follows : 



10 percent depreciation on $300 home unit $30.00 



2 percent allowance for repairs 6.00 



5 percent interest on investment 15.00 



Cost of electricity (at 2.5c per kilowatt hour) 27.00 



225 packages at .04 per package.- 9.00 



Total cost for freezing and storing 450 pounds food $ 87.00 



Unit cost per pound of food 



If freezer is filled once.__ 193 



If freezer is filled twice 107 



If freezer is filled three times— 078 



The above figures do not Include the cost of the food itself or its preparation. 

 However, the cost per pound may be reduced by efficient management and by 

 replacing the foods that are used from the freezer with others as Indicated pre- 

 viousl}'. In refilling the freezer with foods, the cost for freezing would be based 

 on 4 to 6 kilowatts of electricity for each 100 pounds of food. 



If foods are frozen in a commercial food locker, the cost Includes such Items as 

 locker rental, packages, processing (in some instances), freezing, and Insurance. 

 Service charges for preparation and packaging and transportation charges to 

 and from lockers are other expenses to be considered. 



The cost of home freezing on the above basis may amount to from four to five 

 times as much as that for home canning. According to Benson (2) and Fellers, 

 Chenoweth and Cole (4), the cost for home canning, considering costs other than 

 that of the raw material, will amount to four to five cents per pound of food. 

 On the other hand It should be pointed out that home freezing offers a means of 

 preserving and conserving certain products grown in the home garden which are 

 not well adapted for canning, such as eggplant, broccoli, and brussels sprouts; 

 as well as eggs and some types of fish. 



However, as suggested above, the cost of freezing and storing foods at home 

 may be considerably reduced if a well-planned freezing program is set up and the 

 freezing cabinet used to maximum capacity. If a program such as that Indicated 

 in tables 2 and 3 is followed, it should be possible to reduce the above costs by 

 approximately 50 percent or more. The use of large-size freezers, if justified by 

 the needs of the family, will also reduce the unit cost of freezing If good use Is 

 made of It. Crowther (3) and Stout (13) have Indicated that freezing costs may 



