Fourth of July cookout costs will rise compared to last year. However, Wells Fargo analysts projected that the cost of home-cooked meals compared to eating out will be "substantial."
While the worst of food inflation has passed, prices are still up on an annual basis. The cost of food rose 0.1% over the course of May. Although grocery prices were unchanged, the price of food away from home jumped 0.4%.
In a report led by Chief Agricultural Economist Dr. Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo analyzed the price of ingredients for a home-cooked, quarter pound hamburger versus the average cost of popular fast-food restaurant quarter pound burgers.
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According to the data, the current cost to prepare a quarter pound hamburger with cheese, tomato, and lettuce at home is $2.16 per burger.
By contrast, the cost of a home-grilled burger, taken from a sample of five popular Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), shows the average price of a quarter-pound burger is $6.95. The restaurant labor and overhead made the QSR burger over three times more expensive.
To exemplify how much money home cooks are saving, Swanson calculated that someone cooking for 10 people in their kitchen will save nearly $50 on burgers.
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"As food away from home inflation remains higher than food at home, the accumulation of restaurant expenses becomes more obvious as a place to cut back. And while we all love convenience and variety, we also really want to knock down that month-end balance," Swanson told FOX Business, adding that "the longer this big gap in inflation persists, the bigger the incentive to cook at home."
However, the entire meal will be about 1% higher, similar to total food inflation.
While consumers will not see relief in lower prices across the board, some dairy products, for instance, have seen a prolonged flattening or a slight decline.
According to Swanson, food producers are still facing higher wages, packaging and transportation expenses.
"The relief will be a slow process where prices stabilize, and personal income grows slowly to make food more affordable. It will be like watching paint dry for the average consumer," he added.
White potatoes can be found across the nation for $0.96 per pound, which is down 4.4% from this time last year. Supermarket prices for potato salad are also down 0.7% from a year ago.
Chips increased 2.7% in mid-June since this time last year.
Salsa prices are up 2.5% from this time last year. However, guacamole declined by 1.1%.
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The cost for ready-to-drink bottled iced tea rose 2.4%. That is in line with the beverage category as a whole.
Beer prices rose by 1.2%. However, wine prices had a 3.4% increase from a year ago.
For soft drinks, 12-ounce cans are up 4.8%, but 2-liter bottles are down 6.5% from a year ago.
Ice cream prices were up 3.3%. For baked goods, prices have also gone up. Cakes are up 1.6% from this time a year ago and cupcakes climbed 5.6%.
