Have ate lots of freeze-dried food hiking. Number one, it’s expensive. Add to that, the “Serves 2” suggestion is not based on reality. While they are sometimes tasty, and convenient, the freeze drying process doesn’t work well with calorie dense foods, so they tend to be very lean entrees, which is exactly the opposite wanted. Adding a pat or two of dairy butter improves the flavor quite a bit. For about the same price as one FD entree one can get an entire MRE and three times the calories.
Freeze dried really only makes sense for 10 day wilderness treks. For shorter jaunts fresh food like what is eaten at home is fine, tastes better, less expensive by far and won’t make you fart like a bull. For all that, if someone wants to buy FD food, eBay has plenty, along with a jillion other outdoor related websites. It’s just Mountain House itself that isnt selling at their site afaik.
Freeze dried food in pouch form is more expensive on a per serving basis than other forms. An entree costs 6-7 bucks and an MRE costs around $9 depending on the version. MREs are also full of chemicals whereas most freeze dried is fairly natural.
Freeze dried in bulk is cheaper especially if you get the basic food item and not the prepared meals.
Yes you can buy stuff on Ebay if you don’t mind not knowing how fresh something is or if its been stored properly. There are several other sources besides Mtn House.