Indiana families planning Fourth of July cookouts may find some relief at the grocery store this summer.

According to the Indiana Farm Bureau’s annual summer cookout market basket survey, the average cost to feed 10 people at a holiday cookout is $66.73, or about $6.67 per person. That’s a 7% decrease compared to 2025.

Indiana’s average cookout cost is also lower than the national average of $7.38 per person. The survey found prices in the Midwest were slightly below the national average as well.

The market basket included common cookout items such as ground beef, pork chops, chicken breasts, hamburger buns, cheese, pork and beans, potato salad, strawberries, chips, ice cream, cookies and lemonade.

Potato salad saw the largest price drop from last year, falling 56%, largely due to lower egg prices. Indiana Farm Bureau Chief Economist Dr. Todd Davis said egg prices have returned to more normal levels after being elevated last year because of avian influenza concerns.

Davis noted that protein items make up more than half of the total cookout cost and encouraged shoppers to compare prices on meat products. He said lower prices for pork chops and ground beef were major factors behind this year’s reduced overall cost.

While grocery prices remain a concern for consumers, Davis said the survey provides only a snapshot of food prices at a specific point in time.

The Indiana Farm Bureau also noted that farmers receive only about 11.8 cents of every retail food dollar, with the remainder covering processing, packaging, transportation, distribution and retail costs.

Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron said farmers continue to face tight margins because production expenses remain high, even as they work to keep food affordable for consumers.

The survey was conducted in early June by volunteer shoppers across Indiana who recorded prices at local grocery stores. The effort was coordinated with a national survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation.