Farm Bureau Calculates Cost of 2024 July Fourth Cookout

The American Farm Bureau is out with its annual cost calculation of a Fourth of July cookout, and the 2024 figure is the highest one yet. The AFB looks at how much it would cost to feed a gathering of 10 people with the following: cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, potato chips, pork and beans, fresh strawberries, homemade potato salad, fresh-squeezed lemonade, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream. Details:

• Bottom line: The total cost is $71.22, which is up 5% from last year but 30% from only five years ago, before the pandemic, per CNN and Axios.

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• Burgers: Ground beef (2 pounds) will set grillers back $12.77, up more than $1 from last year. Add in the buns ($2.41) and cheese ($3.57 for a pound), and the cheeseburgers total more than the second-highest item: $15.49 for 3 pounds of pork chops. The latter price is up 8% from last year.
• Price drop: Two items on the list actually declined in price from last year. Chicken ($7.83 for 2 pounds) is down 4%, and the cost of potato salad ($3.32 for 2.5 pounds) also dipped 4%.
• Milestone: The average cost per person is $7.12, the first time it has exceeded the $7 mark, according to the AFB. Still, "it's clear that food prices are no longer skyrocketing like they were two years ago," per CNN.

(More Fourth of July stories.)