Survey Says: Summer Picnic is a Bargain

The price of a picnic this year will be less than last summer according to the latest Wisconsin­ Farm Bureau Marketbasket survey. The informal survey shows the total cost of 14 food items that can be used to prepare a typical picnic was $54.30 It marked a decrease of $4.56 or 7.7 percent from the $58.86 Marketbasket price in June 2015.

“Wisconsin shoppers preparing for Fourth of July picnics will find a bargain this year,” Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s spokesman Casey Langan said.

The survey’s summer picnic menu for 10 people consists of hot dogs and buns, cheeseburgers and buns, ketchup and mustard, pork spare ribs, deli potato salad, baked beans, corn chips, lemonade, chocolate milk and watermelon for dessert. Of the 14 food items surveyed by Farm Bureau members, nine items decreased in price compared with last summer.

“Our survey shows that you can do this for $5.43 per person, which is cheaper than a trip to the drive-thru,” Langan said.

Items that saw the largest price percentage decrease during the last year were watermelon, American cheese, mustard, hot dog and hamburger buns.

• Watermelon (4 pounds) decreased $2.44 (45.5 percent)
• American cheese (16-slice package) decreased 83 cents (25.5 percent)
• Hotdog buns decreased 41 cents (23.7 percent) for a package of 8
• Hamburger buns decreased 37 cents (20.9 percent) for a package of 8
• Mustard decreased 30 cents (24.8 percent) for a 16-ounce bottle

The items that increased in price were pork spare ribs, lemonade, corn chips, ketchup and baked beans.

“The lower food prices found in this survey did not come as a surprise,” Langan said. “Wisconsin dairy farmers are receiving prices for their milk well below their costs of production. The survey reflected this with lower prices for chocolate milk and American cheese compared to one year ago.”

WISCONSIN PRICES LOWER THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE

Wisconsin’s $54.30 survey price is $1.76 less than the American Farm Bureau Federation’s national survey of the same 14 food items. AFBF’s survey came in at $56.06.

Despite the lower overall price, five of the 14 items surveyed in Wisconsin were higher than the national average: ground round, hot dogs, corn chips, ketchup and lemonade.

National Average Retail Prices – AFBF July Fourth Picnic Survey:

Ground round (pre-cooked weight), 2 pounds	$8.80
Package of hamburger buns	$1.59
Mixed meat hot dogs (1 pound package)	$2.09
Package of hot dog buns	$1.61
American cheese slices, 16 (1 pound package)	$3.07
Pork spare ribs, 4 pounds	$13.36
Deli potato salad, 3 pounds	$8.76
Baked beans, 28-ounce can	$1.90
Corn chips, 15-ounce bag	$3.17
Lemonade (pre-mixed), 2 quarts	$2.04
Chocolate milk (pre-mixed), 2 quarts	$2.50
Watermelon, 4 pounds	$4.49
Ketchup, 20-ounce bottle	$1.44
Mustard, 16-ounce bottle	$1.24

 

State Average Retail Prices – WFBF July Fourth Picnic Survey:

Ground round (pre-cooked weight), 2 pounds	$9.94
Package of hamburger buns	$1.40
Mixed meat hot dogs (1 pound package)	$2.55
Package of hot dog buns	$1.32
American cheese slices, 16 (1 pound package)	$2.42
Pork spare ribs, 4 pounds	$12.56
Deli potato salad, 3 pounds	$8.52
Baked beans, 28-ounce can	$1.80
Corn chips, 15-ounce bag	$3.75
Lemonade (pre-mixed), 2 quarts	$2.46
Chocolate milk (pre-mixed), 2 quarts	$2.14
Watermelon, 4 pounds	$2.92
Ketchup, 20-ounce bottle	$1.61
Mustard, 16-ounce bottle	$0.91

FARMER’S SHARE IS 16 PERCENT

During the last three decades, retail grocery prices have gradually increased while the share of the average dollar spent on food that farm families receive has dropped. In the mid-1970s, farmers received about one-third of consumer retail food expenditures in grocery stores and restaurants.

Since then that figure has decreased steadily and is now about 16 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Using that percentage across the board, the farmer’s share of this quarter’s $54.30 grocery bill about $8.68.

Despite higher prices, the USDA says Americans will still spend approximately 10 percent of their disposable annual income on food, the lowest average in the world.

The July Fourth Picnic Survey is part of Farm Bureau’s marketbasket series, which also includes an annual Thanksgiving dinner cost survey and two “everyday” marketbasket surveys on common food staples that can be used to prepare one or two meals.

Members of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau collected price samples of 14 basic food items in 22 communities across Wisconsin in June.

Made up of 61 county Farm Bureaus, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau is the state’s largest farm organization, representing farms of every size, commodity and management style.

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The Marketbasket Survey is an informal measure of prices at grocery stores in Wisconsin. The prices reported reflect variations in communities and retailers. The prices reported are not validated by any outside source. Prices were collected for this survey in the communities of Appleton, Ashland, Beloit, De Pere, Eau Claire, Edgerton, Elroy, Fond du Lac, Lodi, Manawa, Manitowoc, Marshfield, New London, Paddock Lake, Plover, Saukville, Shawano, Sparta, Union Grove, Waterford, Watertown and West Bend.