Inflation concerns are hitting the holiday table, with average Fourth of July cookout costs expected to soar to their highest level ever, according to new research.
This year’s American Farm Bureau Fourth of July market basket survey found that the average cost of summer cookout staples — fixings needed to feast on cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, potato chips, pork and beans, fresh strawberries, homemade potato salad, fresh-squeezed lemonade, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream — for a gathering of 10 people will set revelers back $71.22, up 5 percent from last year and up 30 percent from five years ago.
The figure has topped $7 per person for the first time ever.
The Independence Day grocery bill is in line with the increased inflation that has hit consumers over the past year.
The Farm Bureau’s experts estimate that two pounds of ground beef will cost an average of $12.77, an increase of about a dollar, or 11 percent, from last year. That comes despite the number of fed cattle in the supply chain this spring being higher than last year.
The overall cattle inventory is the smallest it has been in 73 years, however, and beef in cold storage is setting record lows for recent years, the bureau estimates.
