You may recall previous stories in this newsletter about the skyrocketing cost of food as a result of COVID-19. The cost of eggs practically doubled, and shortages became commonplace. Well, good news! It appears that meat costs are finally coming down.
From June to July, uncooked beef & veal dropped 8.2%. For larger cuts like roasts and steaks, beef prices dropped 8.7%. This comes after both jumped over 10% between April and May, and went up an additional 5% from May to June. Chicken, which didn’t really rise too much, fell 2.6%. Eggs went down 4%. And the other white meat, pork, fell 5.7%.
Hot dogs, however, continue to climb in price… if only slightly. The summer standard had gotten 1.6% more pricey from April to May, and then shot up 4.9% from May to June. From June to July, they continued to rise to the tune of 2.4%.
As a Southerner and avid barbecuer, these past few months have been free of good meat. It has been terrible! I still remember the days… semi-recent days… when Boston butts were less than a dollar a pound. The last time I scanned the freezers at Sam’s Club, it was pitiful. Ground chuck at $6/lb. Pre-packaged, pre-seasoned 10oz NY strips for $12.99/each. A bone-in pork shoulder for $3.29/lb. Brisket, if you could find it, was north of $8/lb. It was carnivorous insanity. Hopefully, we can get back to more sensible pricing. This past month was a good start.
And, in shortage news, Clorox has said they don’t expect to have caught up with demand for cleaning wipes until 2021. So if you’re grilling, don’t make a mess on your cutting board. And now, right on the heels of beer can shortages, it looks like we may have a shortage of Dr. Pepper.
Hopefully, we all make it through this with nothing worse than some interesting stories to show for it.