LEMOYNE, Pa. — It's almost Turkey time. Shoppers at Karns Foods in Lemoyne are already thinking ahead to Thanksgiving Day, picking up the staple food for many holiday meals.
When customers flock to the turkey treasure chests at Karns, they'll pick up on a big price drop from last year, leaving birds and wallets stuffed.
Todd Keys, Karns Foods meat director, says turkey prices have been cut down as the industry recovers from the avian flu outbreak that hurt production in 2022.
"This year supply is better, so we're seeing a little bit better pricing this year comparatively to last year," he said.
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows a pound of Turkey dropped to $1.25 per pound in September, down $0.43 per pound compared to last year.
That's the lowest mark since July 2021.
Keys said it may make shopping for this year's Thanksgiving dinner much easier to swallow.
"Ultimately on a ten-pound turkey you're probably going to be looking at that three-to-four-dollar savings," he said. "People aren't quite as price conscious when it comes this time of year. They want what they want and they're willing to spend the money."
With two weeks left to prepare, customers are already claiming their birds.
"Frozen turkeys have been selling well over the last month or so," Keys said. "Fresh turkeys are due to arrive at our stores next week for people that don't want to go through the thawing process."
The USDA said avian flu is not expected to have a major impact on commercial turkey flocks this year, setting the table for Pennsylvanians to carve up and gobble down.