The Fourth of July is a time for American families and friends to gather for the second-greatest of American food traditions: the summer cookout!
The good news is that in 2023, it will be ever-so-slightly cheaper than last year. Here's our visualization of the costs of the items included in the Farm Bureau's summer cookout menu:
When we say the cost compared to 2022 is ever-so-slightly cheaper, we're not kidding. For a menu that will feed approximately 10 people, it will cost $6.77 per person in 2023, down 22 cents per person from last year's cost. That's still $0.82 more per person than the cost of 2021's cookout grocery list.
Here's how the Farm Bureau framed the cost of its summer cookout menu for 2023:
Celebrating the 4th of July with a cookout will cost significantly more than two years ago, although prices have fallen slightly from record highs in 2022. Families will pay $67.73 to host an Independence Day cookout with 10 family members or friends, based on the 2023 American Farm Bureau Federation marketbasket survey.
The $67.73 grocery bill is down 3% from 2022, but still approximately 14% higher than prices were just two years ago. Last year set a record high since AFBF began the survey in 2013, and 2023 comes in as the second-highest cost. The cookout favorites include cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries and ice cream, among other products.
“The slight downward direction in the cost of a cookout doesn’t counter the dramatic increases we’ve seen over the past few years. Families are still feeling the pinch of high inflation along with other factors keeping prices high,” said AFBF Chief Economist Roger Cryan. “Don’t assume farmers come out as winners from higher prices at the grocery store either. They’re price takers, not price makers, whose share of the retail food dollar is just 14%. Farmers have to pay for fuel, fertilizer and other expenses, which have all gone up in cost.”
Which is to say they aren't buying into the skiffy greedflation claims being circulated by certain political activists.
The data in the chart was collected by Farm Bureau staff members and other volunteers, who shopped for the individual items needed for their summer cookout at 240 different stores in every state and Puerto Rico. The total menu cost of $67.73 represents the second-highest recorded since the Farm Bureau began their annual cost of a summer cookout project in 2013. Only 2022's cost of a summer cookout for 10 people is higher.