(Indianapolis, IN) - Your 4th of July cookout may take a smaller bite out of your family budget this year.
According to Indiana Farm Bureau’s annual summer cookout market basket survey, the average cost to feed 10 people at a holiday cookout is $66.73, or about $6.67 per person. That’s a 7% decrease from last year. It’s also 10% better than the national average, which is $7.38 per person.
To compare to your holiday spread, this survey takes into account menu items such as ground beef and burger buns, pork chops, chicken, cheese, pork and beans, potato salad, strawberries, chips, ice cream, cookies and lemonade.
Potato salad is reportedly down 56% this year, largely due to lower egg prices. Remember how expensive they were last year?
Even though chicken breast is a bit more expensive this year, lower pork chop and ground beef prices are helping the affordability factor.
Overall this is good news for consumers, but farmers aren’t exactly cashing in. According to the USDA, farmers receive less than 12 cents of every retail food dollar, with the rest going to processing, packaging, transportation, distribution and retail costs.
“Farmers are price takers, not price makers – just like consumers,” said Randy Kron, Indiana Farm Bureau president. “Margins are still tight for farmers due to high supply costs because the amount farmers are being paid isn’t covering that increase in expenses.”
