Survey Finds Summer BBQ Costs Are Changing The Way Americans Host This Season

New survey reveals most Americans expect cookouts to cost more this summer, with many turning to potluck-style gatherings to offset rising food prices

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As summer gatherings get underway, a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of affordable grocery app Flashfood found that rising food prices are forcing Americans to rethink how they host backyard BBQs, cookouts, and summer gatherings.

According to the survey, more than half of Americans (53%) are concerned about the cost of hosting summer events this year because of food prices. Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority (85%) expect hosting a BBQ or cookout to be more expensive this summer compared to last year.

The findings come as grocery costs remain elevated nationwide. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts food-at-home prices will increase in 2026, with several summer cookout staples expected to see continued price pressure. The cost of summer entertaining is also climbing. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average cost of a Fourth of July cookout for 10 people reached a record $73.82 this year, up from the previous year.

Key Findings:

• 53% of Americans are concerned about the cost of hosting summer events this year because of food prices.
• 85% expect hosting a BBQ or cookout to be more expensive this summer than last summer.
• 34% of Americans with summer hosting plans say they will ask guests to bring something instead of providing all the food themselves.

"Summer gatherings are special moments that bring families and communities together, and our mission is to make sure that rising food costs don’t disrupt those connections," said Jordan Schenck, CEO of Flashfood. “Food is how people show up for each other, and Flashfood is how they do it without compromise."

For more information, visit www.flashfood.com.

About Flashfood

Flashfood is on a mission to feed families, not landfills. The app marketplace connects shoppers with fresh produce, meat, and other groceries at discounted prices. By partnering with retailers across North America, Flashfood offers shoppers nutritious staples at affordable prices and reduces the amount of food going to landfills. To date, Flashfood has rerouted more than 160 million pounds of food from landfills while saving its shoppers more than $370 million on their groceries. Flashfood is a B-Corp certified company currently partnered with more than 2,000 stores across North America. For more information, please visit www.flashfood.com.

About the Survey

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Flashfood from June 15–16, 2026, among 2,007 adults ages 18 and older, including 1,728 who have plans to host summer gatherings this year. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Esther Cohn.