The state and national Farm Bureau organizations have put together some figures on what it costs the average person to cookout this year on Independence Day. According to the summary, a Fourth of July picnic including hot dogs, cheeseburgers, condiment, pork spare ribs, deli potato salad, baked beans, corn chips, lemonade, chocolate milk and watermelon runs about $6 per person.
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau estimates that it would cost about $60.35 to feed 10 people during the holiday. That's $3.88 more than the price of the same goods during the summer prior to the pandemic. Nationally, that price is closer to $59.50 or $5.95 per person, which was more than five dollars higher than in 2019.
"Consumers have grown a closer connection with their food in recent years and the pandemic definitely contributed to that," said WFBF Spokesperson Cassie Sonnentag. "While it is too early to fully grasp the impact COVID-19 had on our food system, we do know people have returned to eating more at home."
Over 160 volunteer shoppers in more than three dozens states checked retail prices for summer picnic foods to put the informal survey together. In Wisconsin, volunteers in 26 communities conducted the survey in local grocery stores.
Categories: Wisconsin, General