Grill, please: Skewered wallet is on the menu at your next summer barbecue
What a wiener!
A 2021 tweet sent by an unidentified White House staffer last July looks pretty ridiculous as the 2022 barbecue season heats up.
“Hot dog, the Biden economic plan is working,” read the unintentionally hilarious dispatch, illustrated with a cutesy GIF. “That’s something we can all relish.”
The cause for celebration? The cost of a summer cookout for four, according to a report issued by the Farm Bureau in 2021, was down a whopping $0.16 from the previous year, 2020 — not exactly a banner year for social gatherings.
Don’t expect any similarly celebratory social media posts from the Biden Administration this year.
Inflation is everywhere under the bun this summer. Americans gearing up for the traditional Fourth of July celebration can expect to fork over a whopping $76.94 for the average cookout — burgers, hot dogs, chicken, pork and all the fixings. That’s up more than 17% from last year’s figure of $65.46, according to the Consumer Price Index compiled by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Other summer favorites are no better:
- Hot dogs are up a sizzling 37.37% a pound from 2021, rising from $3.80 to $5.22.
- Soda is up 16.56%, after bubbling up past $1.90 for a 2-liter bottle.
- Ice cream prices could have a chilling effect on your next birthday bash, climbing from $4.69 to $5.35 — a hike of 14.07% in just one year.
- Grilling healthy? The price of chicken breast has tongues clucking nationwide, rising a whopping 27.89%.
Phil Lempert, editor of trade publication SupermarketGuru.com and a food industry analyst, attributes skyrocketing food prices to four issues: climate change; labor shortages on farms, in supermarkets and in the trucking industry; rising diesel prices; and the war in Ukraine.
“The biggest price increase we’re seeing is on beef, pork, chicken, eggs and milk,” Lempert told The Post. Shoppers looking for a break shouldn’t hold their breath.
“The prices are going to continue to go up,” he warned. “It’s not going to settle down for probably another 12 months, until we can really fix the supply chain issues; fix the transportation problems and get the climate under control.”
To save a little lettuce this summer, Lempert advises hitting up the frozen section for more affordable meat and seafood; additionally, ditch the deli counter, and instead look for cheeses in the prepackaged dairy case, for a savings of 30% to 40%. Hot dog.
Inflation is everywhere under the bun this summer:
- Ground beef:
2022: $9.58 per 2 pounds
2021: $8.20
Price hike: 16.83% - Hot dogs per pound (around five to seven dogs)
2022: $5.22
2021: $3.80
Price hike: 37.37% - Chicken breast, boneless (per 2 pounds)
2022: $8.62 per 2 pounds
2021: $6.74 per 2 pounds
Price hike: 27.89% - Cheese per pound:
2022: $4.34
2021: $4.05
Price hike: 7.16% - Ice cream (per half-gallon)
2022: $5.35
2021: $4.69
Price hike: 14.07% - Pork chops (per 3 pounds):
2022: $12.39
2021: $11.64
Price hike: 6.44% - Chips per 16-ounce bag
2022: $5.61
2021: $4.92
Price hike: 14.02% - Lettuce (per pound)
2022: $2.99
2021: $2.69
Price hike: 11.4% - Tomatoes (per pound):
2022: $1.82
2021: $1.80
Price hike: 1.11% - Eight hamburger buns
2022: $1.82
2021: $1.66
Price hike: 9.64% - Potato salad (per 2.5 pounds):
2022: $2.99
2021: $2.75
Price hike: 8.73% - Strawberries (per two 12-ounce pints)
2022: $4.88
2021: $5.30
Price drop: -$7.92% - Baked beans (per three cans)
2022: $4.92
2021: $4.26
Price hike: 15.49% - Soft drink (per 2 liters)
2022: $1.90
2021: $1.63
Price hike: 16.56% - Cookies (per pound/one-pack)
2022: $4.51
2021: $4.02
Price hike: 12.19%
