Should that batch of heirloom tomatoes be canned, dried, or fermented? The challenge is choosing the right preservation strategy without specialized knowledge or large-scale infrastructure, leaving many home growers torn between convenience, nutrition, and minimizing spoilage—all while juggling daily responsibilities.

This often means food is left unused or poorly preserved, directly undermining the promise of self-supporting food systems.

The root challenge lies in fragmented, generic guidance and lack of tailored, easy-to-use decision tools that account for personal harvest quantities, available equipment, dietary preferences, and local preservation best practices.

Many home-growers revert to the most familiar or least time-intensive method, foregoing long-term food security and nutritional value.

Blogs, generalist books, and online forums provide limited, one-size-fits-all advice, often overwhelming or irrelevant for specific produce and personal situations.

Commercial apps focus on inventory, not decision-making.

These gaps result in suboptimal or wasted efforts.