The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A Super Bowl Favor for Snacks and Meals in the New Millenium
There is a lot to be happy about, other than the Superbowl and the halftime show.
You will probably cost less to serve game-time dishes if you are a party host like a year ago, except for an important one.
While overall food price inflation is up 11.8% over last year, prices on some popular snack items are down just in time for game day, according to a new Wells Fargo Super Bowl Food Report.
The price of whole chicken wings was $3.38 per pound in the week of the Super Bowl last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
If you are grilling, sirloin steak prices have dropped almost $1 per pound, and bacon is cheaper than last year. So is shrimp, as lower demand helped push down prices by 17% to $3.78 a pound, compared to a year ago.
Go crazy with guacamole, too, because avocados are at a bargain. The average retail price for an avocado is down 20% since last year, after a significant supply glut of the buttery fruit triggered a drop in wholesale prices.
Most people will be shopping for chips and dips at the supermarket before they watch the Super Bowl.
It’s still possible to feed friends and family during a big game, without having your wallet touched for a loss.
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“It’s finger food,” says Chef Oji Abbott, who expects take-out wings to be flying out the door of his Oohh’s & Aahh’s restaurant in Washington, D.C., this weekend. You pick it up with your fingers, you’re watching the game. You’re cheering. It’s easy to do both at once. It is good party food.
With more people giving and going to Super Bowl parties this year, the National Chicken Council expects Americans to gobble up 1.45 billion wings this weekend, 84 million more than last year.
Chicken and egg production have both been hampered by a widespread outbreak of avian flu. It can take more than one generation to raise an egg-laying bird, so it’s easier for farmers to recover quickly.
“Two completely different flocks,” explains Michael Swanson, an agricultural economist at Wells Fargo. The eggs were hit really hard. But luckily for us, the chicken breasts, all those other pieces, have not gotten hit that bad.”
Swanson says there are other bargains to be found on the Super Bowl menu, but like a quarterback reading the defense, shoppers have to keep their eyes open and pick their opportunities.
Beer and soft drink prices have increased in the past year, according to the consumer price index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wine prices have gone up less than 4%.
“So maybe some sangria to celebrate the Super Bowl,” Swanson suggests. The wine is a global market. The U.S. wine producers have a lot of competition and can’t increase their prices.
The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas says the Super Bowl volume for avocados is the second highest in the history of the game. One of the most fun snacks of all time is gibraltar. It’s popular at this time of year and everyone from the restaurants to the grocery stores are trying to take advantage of it.