WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Fourth of July cookout of Americans’ favorite foods costs slightly less this year, coming in at less than $6 per person. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), that cost includes hot dogs, cheeseburgers, pork spare ribs, potato salad, baked beans, lemonade and chocolate milk.

AFBF’s informal survey reveals the average cost for a summer cookout for 10 is $55.84, or $5.58 per person. That’s about a 3-percent decrease compared to a year ago.

“Based on our survey, food prices overall appear to be fairly stable,” said John Anderson, deputy chief economist at AFBF. “Prices for beef have continued to increase this year, but prices for other meats are generally declining. Dairy product prices are also quite a bit lower.

“Fuel and other energy prices have also generally been lower so far this year compared to last year,” Anderson said. “This helps keep prices down on the more processed items in the basket. Energy is an important component of the final price for these products.”

AFBF’s summer cookout menu for 10 consists of hot dogs and buns, cheeseburgers and buns, pork spare ribs, deli potato salad, baked beans, corn chips, lemonade, chocolate milk, watermelon for dessert, and ketchup and mustard.

A total of 88 AFBF members (volunteer shoppers) in 30 states checked retail prices for summer cookout foods at local grocery stores for this informal survey.

The summer cookout survey is part of the AFBF marketbasket series which also includes the popular annual Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey and two “everyday” marketbasket surveys on common food staples Americans use to prepare meals at home. AFBF published its first marketbasket survey in 1986.