Your BBQ will cost more this year. Here’s the best Whatcom stores to save on July 4 staples

Looking forward to another Fourth of July weekend full of BBQs, fireworks and s’mores? These holiday staples will be costing you more this year, but The Bellingham Herald has found the most affordable groceries in the area for your holiday needs.

From burgers, hot dogs, marshmallows, chips and drinks, The Herald has compared prices and found the most affordable store to shop this weekend.

The Herald compared prices between Fred Meyer, Walmart and Safeway to find the most affordable BBQ staples in Bellingham:

Burgers

Frozen burger patties vary in price based on their percent of lean meat, size and quantity of the patties. We compared the most affordable and most alike products from stores and found that Walmart had the cheapest burgers, with its Great Value 85% Lean Burgers costing only $1.15 a patty. Safeway’s Signature Farms 100% Ground Beef, 91% Lean burgers were a close second, at $1.29 a patty.

Impossible Burgers

Impossible Burgers are available in frozen packs of six patties or unfrozen packs of two patties, and some stores do not carry both options. When comparing prices, Fred Meyer had the most affordable price for two unfrozen patties, at $4.99 with a $1 coupon. With the coupon, each patty costs $1.99. Walmart had the most affordable price at $10.99 for a pack of six frozen Impossible Burgers, only $1.83 a patty.

Hot dogs

A pack of eight Nathan’s Famous beef franks are currently on sale at Fred Meyer for $4.49, 56 cents a frank. Fred Meyer is followed closely by Walmart that has the same pack for $4.62. Safeway has the same pack of franks, coming in at $6.99.

Ball Park’s Bun Size franks are a more affordable option for your BBQ this year, with an eight-pack of hot dogs only costing $2.00 at Fred Meyer, only 25 cents a hot dog. The same pack of hot dog buns are $3.62 at Walmart, and $3.99 at Safeway.

Lay’s Potato Chips

A 13-ounce Party Size bag of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips is most affordable at Walmart, costing $4.78. Walmart is closely followed by Fred Meyer, which has the chips on sale for $4.97, and Safeway’s price at $5.69.

Potato Salad

Potato salad comes in a variety of flavors and quantities, but to get the largest quantity for your money, Walmart has the most affordable potato salad. Walmart’s Freshness Guaranteed Original Potato Salad comes in a 32-ounce container for $3.74, or 11 cents an ounce. Safeway’s Signature Cafe Classic Potato Salad comes in a 48-ounce container for $5.99, which is 12 cents an ounce.

Watermelon

Whole seedless watermelons ranged in prices depending on the store, but are the most affordable this week at Walmart, which beat Fred Meyer’s price by only one cent. Walmart’s watermelons are on sale for $3.98, Fred Meyers’ watermelons are $3.99 each, and Safeways’ are $5.85 each.

Marshmallows

Some local grocery stores have already marked their brand’s marshmallows as “out of stock,” so The Herald has compared the prices a 12-ounce bag of Jet-Puffed Marshmallows.

Fred Meyer had the most affordable prices at $1.50 a bag, followed by Walmart at $1.62 a bag, and Safeway at $2.00 a bag.

Coke

For a 12-pack of 12-ounce classic cans of Coke, Walmart was the most affordable option with a price of $6.58, 54 cents a can. Following closely at $6.99 and 58 cents a can was Fred Meyer. Safeway’s pack of Coke costs $7.99 and 66 cents a can.

Bud Light

For 12, 12-ounce bottles of Bud Light, Walmart had the most affordable price at $11.98, or 99 cents a bottle. Both Fred Meyer and Safeway currently have Bud Light on sale, but Fred Meyer had the cheaper price by one dollar, costing $13.99 for the pack and $1.16 a can. Safeway’s Bud Light cost $14.99 for the 12-pack, $1.24 a bottle.

White Claw

White Claw’s No. 2 Variety pack of 12, 12-ounce cans is on sale at Fred Meyer for $16.99, or $1.41 a can, making it the most affordable store. Walmart had the same pack for $17.48 and only 4 cents more per can compared to Fred Meyer. Safeway’s price was the highest at $25.99 and over $2.00 per can, but offered an online rebate for $5.00.

Grocery prices across the country have been rising and are predicted to climb between 8.5% and 9.5% in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Grocery prices have already been climbing throughout the last few years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which saw a significant increase in U.S. city average prices of groceries such as ground beef, potato chips, soft drinks and frankfurters: