Off the Charts: Hosting a (small) Fourth of July barbecue could set you back almost $200 this year

Seattle consumers have been battling bigger grocery bills for a while now, at a time when food prices nationally have also risen roughly 25% from 2019 to 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These increases have put the small summer barbecue squarely in the $190 and up range for most Seattleites.

KUOW pulled prices for various barbecue staples from four grocery stores within city limits (two Safeways and two QFCs) and averaged them together to get a better sense of barbecue costs this summer. The results show prices for preparing 10 servings of each item, providing enough food for 6-8 people to get their fill and have seconds.

Where did these numbers come from?

The prices shown above are the result of averaging costs for the lowest available price items in four Seattle grocery stores: two Safeway stores and two QFC stores. Prices do not take into account membership sales or deals.

The cheeseburger represented here includes 80/20 lean beef (not frozen). Substituting impossible patties for beef patties decreased prices by $9 total.