Tips: Food Storage

By Jennifer Wendland | Updated Jun 22, 2017

I’ve talked before about using Ziploc bags to store all sorts of stuff, from food to spare parts to things like cereal that can be emptied out of those big bulky boxes and stored in much less space.

Not too long ago, a listener named Diane from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin offered up an alternative suggestion.

The system Diane suggested is called Thrifty Vac.

It seals all kinds of food in vacuum bags, using a hand pump that easily stores away.

“With the pump system, you can easily get all of the air out of your bag,” she told me, adding that advertisements for the product claim food vacuum-sealed with one of their bags can last up to two years.

There are various options for Thrifty Vac kits, but they are all less than $25 (as of this writing). The bags cost about 17 cents each. As Diane pointed out, you can even use bags like Ziploc brand with it.

“It’s an easy way to make sure food stays fresh and contained,” she said.

Have a tip or suggestion for the RV lifestyle? You can use the “Leave Voicemail” link at Roadtreking.com. Just click it and then use the built-in microphone on your computer or mobile device to record a message to me. You can do it over as many times as you want, until you are satisfied. And then you just click a button and it comes right to my email inbox.

Jennifer Wendland

Published on 2017-06-22

Jennifer Wendland travels North America with husband, Mike, in a small Motorhome. She has worked with Mike as a television producer and traveled extensively all over the world. She is a self-described "gym rat," enjoying fitness and exercise wherever she goes. She is a certified Water Aerobics instructor and has taught large group classes in leading health clubs for more than 20 years. She and Mike have three grown children and seven grandchildren. They travel about two weeks out of every month. When not on the road, they live in southeastern Michigan.

One Response to “Tips: Food Storage”

June 30, 2017at11:10 am, SunnyOne said:

I went to the Thrifty Vac website, and it looks a little more complicated than just pump and seal. You need a large bag with some kind of sealer piece in it. You put your nearly all sealed up bag with the food into the larger bag and secure it with the sealer piece. Then you put the pump over the sealer nipple and pump out all the air. Seal the inner bag all the way and remove it. The good part is that you can use any kind of sealed bag for your food, you don’t need special bags with a nipple in them. The bad part, of course, is you have to store a second apparatus.

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