Grand Canyon Times

A analysis of food prices from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) found that Americans, on average, are paying record high prices for their July 4th barbecues. Recent prices of groceries at the Fry's Food Stores in Arizona found that the price of ground beef has increased nearly 73% since before the start of the Biden-Harris administration. 

According to the AFBF's annual Fourth of July market basket survey, the average cost for an Independence Day cookout for ten people in 2024 is a record-high $71.22, five percent higher than 2023's average of $67.73 and 30 percent higher than five years ago. According to the reports findings, this is the first time the average cost has surpassed $7 per person, with the total coming to $7.12 per person nationwide. Only two dishes in the report, chicken breast and potato salad, saw a decrease. All other foods rose in price.

The AFBF's survey shows that two pounds of ground beef are up 11% over last year, surpassed only by the cost of 2.5 quarts of lemonade, which is up 12 percent over last year. Other notable increases include three pounds of pork chops (8%), hamburger buns (7%), 16 ounces of potato chips (8%), and a half-gallon of ice cream (7%). 

Shoppers at the Arizona-based grocery store chain Fry's were paying nearly 73% more for ground beef as of June of this year than they were in 2020 prior to the Biden-Harris administration, according to a report from the Grand Canyon Times. 

The average cost of a July Fourth cookout for ten people in the Western United States this year is $80.88, according to the AFBF, which is higher than the national average.

The same AFBF analysis for Fourth of July 2021 showed the average cost of an Independence Day cookout for ten people was $59.50. Prices were relatively stable over the previous year. On Fourth of July  2022, after the first full year of the Biden-Harris administration, the average cost of a cookout for ten was $69.88, up 17% over 2021.