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Grocery stores brace for Super Bowl, Valentine's Day weekend

With the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day landing on back-to-back days this year, grocery stores say customers should do their shopping sooner than later.

COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. — It's a busy Friday at Hy-Vee in Cottage Grove, but it's about to get even busier.

"Starting tomorrow (Saturday), we really should start seeing some volume,” store manager Joe Stupka said.

Super Bowl weekend is usually one of their busiest times of the year, but Stupka says it's going to be even busier this time around with the big game falling one day before Valentine's Day.

"It's the first time this has ever happened, because of the 17-week season this year. So, it's something we've never experienced before. We're all just anxious to see how it turns out,” Stupka says.

If you still have to do some grocery shopping before the Super Bowl, and you want to avoid the crowds, Stupka recommends shopping early Saturday morning or late Saturday night.

“We open at 5:00 a.m. and we usually start to get busy around noon,” Stupka says. “And then things start to slow down around 7 at night and we close at 11.”

Another good option is shopping online and using pickup or delivery. Every grocery chain handles their pickups and deliveries differently, so it’s important to do your research before you place your order.

Stupka says Hy-Vee typically offers a four-hour turnaround time for customers, but Hy-Vee members can get their orders within two hours on most days.

However, being that this weekend is sort of unprecedented with two major events happening at the same time, Stupka says customers should get their orders in as quickly as possible so they can make sure their order is ready in time for the game.

Shoppers will also see higher prices at grocery stores nationwide this weekend.

Wells Fargo recently conducted a price analysis to see how inflation is affecting food prices ahead of the Super Bowl. According to their analysis, the average Super Bowl party will cost up to 14% more than it did last year.

Meat is where you'll see the highest increases, with steak going up as much as 23% and chicken wings as much as 26%

The best bang for your buck will be with snacks, like chips, appetizers and veggies, which are only up 2-5%.

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