The preferred embodiment of the present invention involves a device and a process which allows a user to first depress a primary plunger to evacuate essentially all of the air from a chamber in which food items in a marinade are sealably contained. Once the excess air is forced from the container so that the primary plunger is in full contact with the marinade, a locking member is used to fix the position of the primary plunger relative to a lid on the device. A vacuum is then pulled by manually activating a secondary plunger to create a near-full vacuum inside the container. Because essentially all of air is removed from the container before pulling the vacuum, achieving a near-full vacuum can be accomplished in a short amount of time with a minimum amount of effort on the part of the user.