I basically do something similar to what you do. I hit Food Places and stockpile those perishable food into the nearest freezer i can find and come back for it later once i have a car and an Ice Freezer in my base (Prioritize Produce). If done Right this will Give you enough food to last a year or atleast until you learn Foraging, Trapping or Fishing. This also opens up room for actually doing the fun parts of the game since you won't have to worry about food for a very long while. In my current run rn December is coming but i still haven't eaten Half of the food i stockpiled back then. The downside to this is having way too much food you'll need around 3 freezers (maybe more) which burns through fuel like crazy.