Patriotic Americans stocking up on burgers, potato salad, ice cream, chips and other staples to celebrate the nation’s Independence Day this year got a slight reprieve from 2022’s record-high cost for cookouts. Still, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s cost tracker showed the price for a holiday BBQ remains elevated as a result of inflation triggered by what the White House now likes to call “Bidenomics.”
“As Americans prepare for a day filled with fireworks, food, and fun they will be reminded of the effects of persistent food price inflation,” the Farm Bureau said in the 2023 release of its annual price estimate for Americans’ July 4th cookouts. The group says consumers can expect this year’s July Fourth staples to total $67.73 for a menu it says will serve ten people.
The total this year is three percent less than last year’s record high of $69.68 but still 14 percent higher than Americans spent for the same food in 2021, the first Independence Day after Biden took office. Some of this year’s cost decrease, the Farm Bureau says, can be attributed to a nine percent decrease in the cost of poultry compared to 2022 due to a “decrease in avian influenza cases and the resulting recovery in layer and broiler flock populations.” The cost of chicken, however, is still 21 percent greater than it was in 2021.
The Farm Bureau’s cookout cost estimate calculated prices for a spread of cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, potato chips, pork and beans, fresh strawberries, homemade potato salad, fresh-squeezed lemonade, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream.
According to their research, “[h]alf of the surveyed foods decreased in average price compared to a year ago, while five increased, and one remained unchanged” and, compared to 2021, “prices for eight of the twelve food products increased over two years.”
Depending on where Americans are celebrating the nation’s birthday today also impacted how much their cookouts cost. According to the Farm Bureau, the “most expensive regional cookout is in the West at $74.09, followed by the South at $66.43, the Midwest at $66.14, and the Northeast was the most affordable at $64.73.”
The Farm Bureau emphasized that “food price inflation remains a real issue and serves as a constraint on the budget of all U.S. consumers” but said “farmers and ranchers are working hard each day to provide America with a safe and affordable food supply” before reminding the security of Americans’ food “plays a significant role in national security.”
“[T]his Fourth of July, as you fire up the grill for your annual cookout, think of the hard work of farmers and ranchers in providing our food and the national security and well-being that go with it,” the Farm Bureau added.
