Farming & Football: Getting Your Favorite Snacks to Your Big Game Party

More than 120 million people in the U.S. are expected to tune in for the big game this Sunday. With the game comes snacks – and plenty of them. When you buy your favorite tailgate foods, the farmers who grow them will receive approximately 16% of each food dollar, slightly higher than the average of 15.8% per dollar spent on food overall. American Farm Bureau Federation economists analyzed several popular foods in the latest Market Intel.

“It takes a team of almost 2 million farmers to ensure America’s families have access to their favorite football snacks,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Farmers work every day to grow a stable and healthy food supply, and they get a small percentage of every dollar spent at the grocery store. They reinvest that money back into supplies like seed, fertilizer and fuel so they can continue to farm the next season.

“They can do this, in part, because of critical programs made possible through the farm bill. We encourage members of Congress to enjoy the big game, and then return to work to pass a new, modernized farm bill to help America’s farmers and ranchers keep America’s pantries stocked.”

Farm Bureau economists looked at several party favorites, including chicken wings, nacho chips and cheese, and fresh veggies.

Key findings include:

• 1.47 billion chicken wings will be consumed on Sunday.
  • At $1.91 per pound, farmers will receive about 30 cents per pound;
• The average price for a bag of chips is $6.32.
  • Farmers receive an average of 10 cents per bag, or only 1.5% of the retail price;
• The average price for 24 ounces of cheddar cheese is $8.43.
  • Farmers receive just over $3.
• Raw vegetables have a more direct route from farm to table.
  • The farmer share of fresh vegetables is about 28%.

The Market Intel notes that farmers typically receive a larger percentage of a food dollar for unprocessed foods like fresh vegetables compared to processed foods like chips. According to the Market Intel, the analysis “is meant to provide a snapshot of how much money goes back to U.S. farmers as Americans across the country dig into classic Super Bowl Sunday foods. When we add up all the football favorites on our list, American farms receive approximately $5.43, or 16% of the total estimated retail value of $33.08. Out of all the items on our list, the cheese used to make queso dip sends the most money back to the farm at $3.03, while a bag of corn tortilla chips sends back just 10 cents per 16-ounce bag.” The data highlights the sometime slim margins farmers face, creating the need for certain food items to be grown in large volume to make enough money to pay their bills. “It’s often said that a farmer’s day is measured in acres, not hours working hard to feed the world.”

Read the full Market Intel here.

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