While prices at the grocery store might have gone up a bit, our friends at the American Farm Bureau Federation say a Fourth of July picnic is still a bargain. The group’s latest marketbasket survey shows a party for 10 people with all the Independence Day favorites, such as hot dogs, cheeseburgers (topped with AMERICAN cheese we’ll assume), pork spare ribs, potato salad, baked beans, lemonade and chocolate milk still comes to less than $6 per person at just $5.72:
“Although retail food prices have increased modestly over the past year or so, most Americans should be able to find summer picnic foods at close to the average prices found by our volunteer shoppers,” said John Anderson, deputy chief economist at AFBF.
“For many of us, nothing says the Fourth of July more than firing up the grill to prepare a meal,” Anderson said. “We’re fortunate here in America to have a consistent, high-quality supply of meats and poultry that can be grilled or prepared any number of different ways.”
AFBF’s summer picnic menu for 10 consists of hot dogs and buns, cheeseburgers and buns, pork spare ribs, deli potato salad, baked beans, corn chips, lemonade, chocolate milk, watermelon for dessert, and ketchup and mustard.
AFBF used input from 60 volunteers in 22 states to check the prices in this informal survey.