The Frozen Advantage

Stretch your food dollar and eat nutritiously with frozen foods

Challenges to eating a healthy diet

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), nearly 9 in 10 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants face barriers in providing their household with a healthy diet.

61%

reported cost of healthy foods

30%

reported time to prepare meals from scratch

11%

reported lack of cooking skills

Frozen to the rescue

Frozen foods provide convenient access to well-balanced, nutritious meals in every season & community

Affordable

Frozen foods are often lower in cost-per-serving and have a longer shelf-life than refrigerated or fresh foods. Additionally, results from menu modeling show that realistic, balanced and affordable menus featuring mostly frozen foods can meet energy, nutrient and cost goals based on recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPlate and USDA’s Moderate Cost Food Plan.

Nutritious

Research from the Universities of California-Davis and Georgia^{1, 2} found that the nutritional value of frozen fruits and vegetables is equal to, and in some cases better than, fresh-stored produce. Freezing is nature’s pause button, locking in the flavor, freshness and nutrients of just-picked foods.

Less Waste

Furthering their economic value, frozen foods can also be more easily portioned and stored for later use, which reduces spoilage and food waste. In fact, frozen food generates 47 percent less food waste compared to ambient and chilled food consumed in the home.³

Time-Saving

From cauliflower pizza crust to brown rice to lowfat breakfast sandwiches to veggie/legume blend side dishes, frozen foods are also a helpful option for consumers that lack the time and skills to cook meals from scratch.

Explore for yourself! Today’s frozen food aisle provides thousands of healthy and better-for-you choices designed to save precious time.

Visit FrozenAdvantage.org

References:

Bouzari, A., D. Holstege and D.M. Barrett. 2015. Vitamin Retention in Eight Fruits and Vegetables: A Comparison of Refrigerated and Frozen Storage. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 63(3):957–962.
Li, L. et al., 2017. Selected analyses of fresh, fresh-stored, and frozen fruits and vegetables. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 59:8-17.
Martindale, W. (2014) Using consumer surveys to determine food sustainability, British Food Journal, Vol. 116 Iss. 7, 1198. Web. (www.emeraldinsight.com)

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