Cost of 4th of July BBQ increases
Fireworks aren’t the only thing shooting sky high, so are food prices. This Fourth of July will cost you more than ever to fire up the grill with all of the fixings.
“Something just draws me to throw something on the grill on Fourth of July,” said La Quinta resident Dee Baker.
Whether it’s the crackle of the fire, the sizzle of meat or just the great company, the Fourth of July is the most popular day of the year for people to cook outside.
“It brings everyone together and you can have a bunch of fun times with the family and just enjoy celebrating America’s birthday,” said Cathedral City resident Naomi Parker.
“It’s special and when family comes together anything goes,” said Palm Desert resident Eileen Bertsch.
At Civic Center Park in Palm Desert, we found several families enjoying the holiday with a picnic.
On the menu, “Carne asada, hamburgers, hot dogs to cook, potato salad,” said Parker.
“We are going to do stakes,and chicken and burgers maybe.” said Bertsch.
All of these items, have gone up in price in the last year.
“It is pricey this year, it sure is,” said Coachella resident Miguel Cortez.
It will cost about 5 percent more this year, the highest ever for the typical Fourth of July barbecue according the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We were going to grill some meat, but instead we got cheese burgers its more economic for the family,” said Cortez.
“Usually I get the filet, but the prices was so high I didn’t,” said Bertsch.
“It is kind of hard especially in these times,” said Cortez.
We found you can save this Fourth of July weekend simply by swapping out a few items. Instead of strawberry pie, make apple pie. Strawberries prices are up nearly 15% from last year, but apples are 1% cheaper. Skip the potato salad (Potatoes up 6.6 %)for a bag of chips ( own 3.1%,) and for the grill, chicken might be the cheapest way to go. (ground beef up 16%,chicken breast up 1.3%)
No matter what it costs, people we talked too say they will still find away to celebrate our freedom.
“As long as we have our family together that’s what counts,” said Cortez.
To see more food price statistics click here.
