The Cool Down: barbecue staples jump 13%

The Cool Down reported on May 22 that Memorial Day cookout staples were running about 13% higher than a year earlier, adding to a broader run-up in grocery costs ahead of the holiday. The outlet said supermarket corn prices had nearly doubled nationwide in its review of typical barbecue items. Its report pointed readers to a new cookout-price analysis with national grocery comparisons and regional breakdowns. (datasembly.com) ### Where did the 13% figure come from? Datasembly said in a post published four days ago that its 2026 Memorial Day “classic barbecue basket” cost had increased 9.6% from the same period in 2025. (datasembly.com) The company said it analyzed prices for popular items from brands including Heinz, Tyson Foods and Bar-S for the week ending May 16, 2026, and compared them with the same week a year earlier. The Cool Down said on May 22 that barbecue staples were up about 13% and that corn had nearly doubled in price. The article did not appear in the search excerpt to spell out the full basket methodology, but it tied the figures to a newly published cookout-price report with national and regional comparisons. (thecooldown.com) ### Why are cookout costs rising this year? ConsumerAffairs reported on May 22 that beef prices were surging ahead of Memorial Day because of low cattle supply and high demand. Its report said beef prices were near record highs heading into the holiday weekend and pointed to the smallest U.S. cattle herd in decades, drought conditions and strong demand. (datasembly.com) KENS 5 reported on May 23 that rising grocery costs, “especially for beef,” were pushing up the price of Memorial Day barbecues nationwide. (thecooldown.com) That local report matched the broader pattern in the cookout-basket data, where beef was identified as the main driver of this year’s increase. ### Why does corn stand out so much? The Cool Down said corn prices had nearly doubled nationwide in its Memorial Day pricing story. The search results available for the article do not provide the exact national percentage in the excerpt, but the outlet highlighted corn as one of the sharpest increases in the basket. (consumeraffairs.com) Datasembly’s public summary emphasized that “other key essentials” were also trending higher alongside beef in 2026. That suggests the increase was not limited to meat alone, even if beef remained the primary driver of the full basket price. (kens5.com) ### Is this worse than last year’s increase? Datasembly said the 2026 barbecue basket rose 9.6%, compared with a 3.4% increase in 2025. Its 2025 Memorial Day analysis said the basket climbed from $51.23 in 2024 to $53.04 in 2025, a much smaller rise than the one it reported this year. (thecooldown.com) The comparison points to a faster year-over-year increase in 2026 than in the prior Memorial Day period, based on the company’s own annual basket reports. ConsumerAffairs also described the current beef market as near record highs, reinforcing that this year’s holiday grilling season is landing in a tighter pricing environment. (datasembly.com) ### What should readers watch next? Datasembly said its Memorial Day 2026 analysis covers national pricing and regional comparisons for the week ending May 16, 2026. The Cool Down’s May 22 story cited that report as the basis for its holiday cookout snapshot, making those retailer-by-retailer and region-by-region comparisons the next place to look for more detail on which items and locations are seeing the biggest increases. (datasembly.com)