Before you order
It’s the chest freezer our survey suggests when a family needs one. Here’s what it holds by the chart on our own order forms, what our deliveries actually weighed this past year, and how to pack it so it all goes in.
Where these numbers come from. The household sizes come from the freezer chart printed on our paper order forms, the same one a Food Planner works from on a call. The pounds come from our order book. We took every delivery on our standard order sizes between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026 that carried meat. That’s 103 deliveries on 94 orders. We added up the beef, pork, chicken and turkey on each one, the way it is packed and delivered, and took the middle delivery, not the average, so a few very large or very small ones don’t pull the number.
By our chart, a 10.2 cu ft chest holds a 1 to 2 person order all at once, or a 2 to 4 person order taken in two deliveries. Past that, it’s tight, and for six or more people it isn’t enough on its own.
| Household | Our chart says | Is a 10.2 enough? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 people | 7 to 10 cu ft | Yes, all at once |
| 2 to 4 people | 7 cu ft in two deliveries, 12 cu ft at once | Yes, in two deliveries |
| 4 to 6 people | 10 to 12 cu ft in two deliveries, 15+ at once | Only a smaller order, in two deliveries |
| 6 to 8 people | 15 cu ft in two deliveries, 20 to 22 at once | Not on its own |
| 8 or more | 22 cu ft, or a 15 and a 7 | Not on its own |
The chart is an estimate, not a measurement of your order. How you pack moves it either way, and so does whatever is already in the freezer when the food arrives. The full chart is in the freezer space guide.
We don’t size freezers by the pound. A stack of flat one-pound packs and a box of roasts can weigh the same and take up very different room. But pounds help you picture it, so here’s what our deliveries carried this past year.
| Each delivery | Typical meat | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Any delivery | about 130 lb | 90 to 180 lb |
| All at once | about 125 lb | 90 to 205 lb |
| Split order | about 140 lb | 95 to 165 lb |
Four deliveries in five carried 200 lb of meat or less.
The orders taken in more than one delivery were more than twice the size, a typical 270 lb of meat for the whole order. Each delivery still came in at about 140 lb, close to an order that arrived all at once. So a bigger order doesn’t have to mean a bigger freezer. It can mean more than one delivery, off the same order at the same prices.
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 you need is the same either way.
The freezer on top of a standard fridge is usually around 4 to 6 cubic feet, and it’s never empty when you start. It’s still a handy spot for what you’ll cook this week, which leaves the chest for the rest.
A 10.2 that’s half full is about a 5 cu ft freezer on delivery day. Tell your Food Planner roughly what’s in it before the order is finalized, and the order is sized to the room you really have.
Flat and stacked beats loose every time. Ground beef in one-pound packs lies flat and stacks like bricks.
In a chest, whatever goes in first ends up at the bottom. So load the roasts and turkeys first, where they’ll sit the longest, and keep what you reach for weekly at the top or in the basket.
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 packed.
A chest freezer this size is about the size of a small chest of drawers laid on its side. It can go in a basement or a utility room.
On our two-minute survey, answer “I have room but need to buy one” and the 10.2 cu ft chest is picked for you. You can choose a different one there too.
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. If your household is bigger than a 10.2 suits, your Food Planner will go through the options with you before the order is finalized.
By the freezer chart on our own order forms, a 10.2 cu ft chest holds a one- or two-person order all at once, or a two- to four-person order taken in two deliveries. In pounds, a typical Shopease delivery this past year carried about 130 lb of meat, and four in five carried 200 lb or less. We size freezers by the chart rather than by weight, because how you pack matters more than what it weighs.
Usually, if the order comes in two deliveries. Our chart puts a two- to four-person order at 7 cu ft per delivery when it is split, and 12 cu ft all at once. A larger four-person order can fall in the four- to six-person row, at 10 to 12 cu ft split, which is the very edge of a 10.2. Your Food Planner sizes the order to the freezer you have.
For four to six people, our chart says 10 to 12 cu ft in two deliveries, so a 10.2 works only for a smaller order. For six or more, it says 15 cu ft or more even when split, so a 10.2 on its own is too small. The answer then is a bigger freezer, or a second one beside it.
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, so the freezer you need is the same either way.
Yes. On the two-minute survey, answer that you have room but need to buy a freezer, and the 10.2 cu ft chest is picked for you. You can choose a different one. We sell chest and upright freezers at what we pay for them and deliver them on the same trip as your food.
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 much freezer space you need, and how much meat a family eats in a year.
Take the 2-Minute Survey What happens at a consult