Say cheese(burgers)!

A beef or plant-based patty, topped with a slice of your favourite cheese, a little lettuce and some tomato, sandwiched between two buns and served with a side of fries… can you picture it already?

Monday, September 18 is National Cheeseburger Day in Canada and we’ve already started celebrating (cheeseburgers for lunch and dinner)!

Whether it’s from your favourite fast-food joint or your neighbour’s backyard grill, the cheeseburger is a barbecue staple enjoyed all year long. We’ve all got our favourite toppings, cheeses and patties, but on average, how much more did it cost us to make a cheeseburger at home this summer than last?

From July 2022 to July 2023, all of the key ingredients we use to make a classic cheeseburger from home increased in price.

By how much?

• Fresh or frozen beef: +8.8%

• Canned vegetables and other vegetable preparations (includes plant-based sausages and burgers): +4.6%

• Cheese: +6.9%

• Tomatoes: +14.1%

• Lettuce: +14.4%

• Condiments, spices and vinegars: +9.9%

• Bread, rolls and buns: +8.1%

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.8% on a year-over-year basis in June 2023. Overall, the prices for food purchased from stores rose 9.1%.

Despite these increases, people across Canada continue to fire up their barbecue grills or hit the local burger joint and dig into a good ol’ cheeseburger once in a while.

Prefer dining out?

On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales in the food services and drinking places subsector were up by 0.5% to $7.7 billion in June 2023.

Sales rose in the second quarter of 2023 compared with the second quarter of 2022, as patrons continued to demonstrate demand for dining out. Limited-service restaurants (+12.1%) and full-service restaurants (+9.9%) saw the largest increases in dollar terms.

Plant-based or beef, cheddar or Havarti, on Monday we say cheese(burgers)!

Happy National Cheeseburger Day!