Before you order
It’s the question that holds a lot of people back. Here’s our answer: the chart from our own order forms, five real orders off our books, and what we do when the freezer is too small.
Where these numbers come from. The chart is ours, off our own order forms, and it’s what a Food Planner works from on a call. It’s a guide rather than a guarantee. How you pack it, and whether you’re storing flat one-pound packs or whole turkeys, moves it either way. Nobody should buy a freezer off a web page: tell us what you already have and we’ll size the order to it.
This is our own chart, printed on our paper order forms. Each row is one of our standard order sizes, with the household size a Food Planner matches it to. It’s an estimate, not a measurement of your order.
| Household | Taken in two deliveries | All at once |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 people | 7 to 10 cu ft | |
| 2 to 4 people | 7 cu ft | 12 cu ft |
| 4 to 6 people | 10 to 12 cu ft | 15+ cu ft |
| 6 to 8 people | 15 cu ft | 20 to 22 cu ft, or a 15 and a 7 |
| 8 or more | 22 cu ft, or a 15 and a 7 | |
Read the two columns before you go freezer shopping. Splitting a 6 to 8 person order across two deliveries drops what you need from about 21 cubic feet to 15. For a household of 2 to 4 it’s the difference between 12 and 7. For a lot of families, taking the order in two parts is the whole answer.
Our orders come in two shapes: frozen only, or a combination that adds brand-name pantry items. Soups, pasta, cereal, baking staples, foil and freezer bags, the things you already buy.
The two shapes are paired. A combination order carries the same frozen list as the frozen-only order of the same size, with the pantry goods on top. So the freezer requirement in the table above is the same either way. Dry goods go in the cupboard, not the freezer. If you assumed the bigger combination order needs a bigger freezer, it doesn’t.
If you’d rather think in pounds than cubic feet, here are the same five orders we publish item by item, with the meat added up.
| Weekly | Meat | Deliveries |
|---|---|---|
| $29.28 | 98 lb | One |
| $62.46 | 187 lb | One |
| $117.70 | 299 lb | Two |
| $88.57 | 389 lb | Two |
| $158.45 | 458 lb | Two |
The three largest are all split across two deliveries, which is how those households manage them without a warehouse.
The freezer on top of a standard fridge is usually somewhere around 4 to 6 cubic feet, and it’s never empty when you start. That’s why a large family order and a fridge-freezer don’t go together.
A 10 cubic foot chest freezer is about the size of a small chest of drawers laid on its side. An upright of around 20 cubic feet takes roughly the footprint of a narrow fridge. Both go in a basement, a garage or a utility room. The chart above shows which size suits your household, and your Food Planner will tailor the order to the space you have.
All three are normal, and your Food Planner will ask before the order is finalized rather than after.
Tell us the size and roughly what’s already in it, and the plan is built around that number. The $29.28 example above is a real household on a twelve-month plan.
You take part of the order now and the rest on a later run, off the same order at the same locked prices. Our three largest examples all did this.
We sell chest and upright freezers at what we pay for them and deliver them on the same trip as the food. There’s no markup.
Flat and stacked beats loose every time. Ground beef in one-pound packs lies flat and stacks like bricks. Keep what you reach for weekly at the top or in the basket, and put roasts and turkeys at the bottom where they will sit for months.
We package with stacking in mind, and pack sizes are yours to choose. If two-pound packs suit your household better than one, say so and that’s how it’s cut.
It depends on the size of the order and whether you take it in one delivery or two. Our own chart runs from 7 to 10 cubic feet for a one- or two-person household up to 22 cubic feet for a household of eight or more. Splitting the order across two deliveries cuts that a long way: a six to eight person order needs about 21 cubic feet at once, or 15 if it comes in two parts. The chart is an estimate, and how you pack moves it either way. A typical fridge-freezer holds around 4 to 6 cubic feet in total and is never empty, so most orders need more than that.
There are three answers. Your Food Planner tailors the order to the freezer you already own. We may bring it in more than one delivery, so you’re storing less at once. Or we supply a chest or upright freezer at our cost, delivered with your order. Tell your Food Planner what you’re working with before the order is finalized.
No. A combination order carries the same frozen list as the frozen-only order of the same size, and adds brand-name pantry items on top. Those go in the cupboard, not the freezer, so the freezer requirement is the same either way.
No. We sell chest and upright freezers at what we pay for them, and deliver them on the same trip as your food.
Flat and stacked beats loose every time. Ground beef in one-pound packs lies flat and stacks like bricks. Keep what you use weekly at the top or in the basket, and put roasts and turkeys at the bottom. We package with stacking in mind, and you can tell your Food Planner the pack sizes that suit how you cook.
Take the two-minute survey and we’ll draft a plan, or book a free consult and we’ll size it around your freezer before anything is ordered. No obligation, no payment information.
See also: how long frozen food actually lasts.
Take the 2-Minute Survey What happens at a consult