# What does a first date cost in raw materials?

The raw materials for the evening come to $8.66 at today's prices, $2.79 of it gasoline, and $8.64 at DataSnack's numbers for seven days from now.

Raw commodities at futures and average pump prices, for two.

- Now: $8.66
- In seven days: $8.64

## The working

The value at today's prices of the gasoline for the drive and the raw cattle, cocoa, sugar and coffee behind a steak dinner, dessert and coffee for two.

| Step | Expression | Now | In seven days |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gasoline for the drive | `miles / mpg * gas` | $2.79 | $2.76 |
| Cattle, live weight | `q_cattle * cattle / 100` | $5.62 | $5.62 |
| Cocoa, sugar and coffee | `q_cocoa * cocoa / ton_lb + (q_sugar * sugar + q_coffee * coffee) / 100` | $0.25 | $0.25 |
| Raw materials for the evening | `drive + dinner + sweet` | $8.66 | $8.64 |

Each name in an expression is an input below or an earlier step.

## What this runs on

### DataSnack's models

- `gas`: [Gasoline at the pump](https://datasnack.ai/m/ch:b3c52887e1a9), $3.908 per gal now (2026-11-12), $3.870 per gal in seven days
- `cattle`: [Live cattle future](https://datasnack.ai/m/ch:e6af3994e13c), 224.93 cents/lb now (2026-11-13), 224.93 cents/lb in seven days
- `cocoa`: [Cocoa future](https://datasnack.ai/m/ch:34cc93388c38), $5,267.00 per t now (2026-11-13), $5,267.00 per t in seven days
- `sugar`: [Sugar future](https://datasnack.ai/m/ch:cbb1b6f479ae), 18.40 cents/lb now (2026-11-13), 18.40 cents/lb in seven days
- `coffee`: [Coffee future](https://datasnack.ai/m/ch:5c13f2c0aebd), 274.00 cents/lb now (2026-11-13), 284.10 cents/lb in seven days

### Published figures

- `ton_lb`: Pounds in a metric ton, 2,204.623 lb ([USDA Economic Research Service, Weights, Measures, and Conversion Factors for Agricultural Commodities and Their Products (AH-697)](https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details?pubid=41881), read 2026-11-13)

### Your assumptions

- `miles`: Miles driven, there and back, 20 miles (change it on the page)
- `mpg`: Fuel economy, 28 mpg (change it on the page)
- `q_cattle`: Cattle behind two steaks, live weight, 2.5 lb (change it on the page)
- `q_cocoa`: Cocoa beans in dessert, 0.05 lb (change it on the page)
- `q_sugar`: Sugar, 0.10 lb (change it on the page)
- `q_coffee`: Coffee beans, 0.04 lb (change it on the page)

Every model here is graded in public. Download the workbook and rebuild it.

## What this cannot tell you

It is not the bill: the restaurant's kitchen, staff, rent and margin are almost all of that, and it says nothing about how the evening went.

## The record

This is a calculation, not a forecast. It is recomputed every day and its history is below.

Data: [CSV](https://datasnack.ai/feed/q/first-date-raw-materials.csv) · [JSON](https://datasnack.ai/feed/q/first-date-raw-materials.json) · [Workbook (Excel)](https://datasnack.ai/feed/q/first-date-raw-materials.xlsx)

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Canonical: https://datasnack.ai/q/first-date-raw-materials · Updated 13 Nov 2026 12:00 UTC · DataSnack forecasts are analysis, not investment advice.