A cookout for the Fourth of July will cost slightly less this year, coming in at less than $6 per person, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The Farm Bureau’s informal survey indicates the average cost of a summer cookout for 10 people is $55.07, or $5.51 per person. That cost is down slightly from 2017.
AFBF’s summer cookout menu for 10 people consists of hot dogs and buns, cheeseburgers and buns, pork spare ribs, deli potato salad, baked beans, corn chips, lemonade, chocolate milk, ketchup, mustard and watermelon for dessert.
Prices Checked in 28 States
Ninety-six Farm Bureau members in 28 states served as volunteer shoppers by checking retail prices for the picnic foods at their local grocery stores for the survey.
The Consumer Price Index report tracks with what the Farm Bureau found as
food prices are flat compared to a year ago.
Farmers’ Share of Food Profits Diminishes
However, over time, the share of the average food dollar that America’s farm and ranch families receive has dropped.
“Through the mid-1970s, farmers received about one-third of consumer food expenditures for food eaten at home and away from home,” says the Farm Bureau’s John Newton.
“Today, farmers receive approximately 14.8 cents of every food marketing dollar, according to the Agriculture Department’s revised Food Dollar Series. However, after accounting for the costs of production, U.S. farmers net 7.8 cents per food dollar.”
Using the “food at home and away from home” percentage across-the-board, the farmer’s share of this $55.07 basket of food from the market would be $8.15.
