Old North News

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 polling of North Carolina voters found that they blame the Biden-Harris administration for the rise in grocery prices.

The average cost of a July Fourth cookout for ten people in the South, which includes North Carolina, this year is $68.33, according to the AFBF. 

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%). 

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.

A May 2024 League of American Workers poll asked North Carolinians about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's thrifty grocery plan, which is the cost of groceries to provide a healthy diet. Currently, for a family of four, the plan is $975 a month for a family of four, up more than 44 percent from $675 a month when Joe Biden became President.  Asked how much responsibility the Biden administration bears for this increase, nearly half — 49 percent — of respondents said "a great deal," with 19 percent saying "some." By comparison, 16 percent said "not much" and 13 percent said "none at all."