PENNSYLVANIA, USA — A last minute rush on grocery stores is expected as the Thanksgiving holiday lies only a few days away. This year people who are watching their budgets may want to keep an eye on prices.
A survey by the Farm Bureau found the cost of Thanksgiving dinner for a family of 10 averages $53.31 this year, or rather less than $6.00 per person. The survey claimed that is up from $46.90 last year.
The Farm Bureau found several contributing factors for the rise in price.
“These include dramatic disruptions to the U.S. economy and supply chains over the last 20 months; inflationary pressure throughout the economy; difficulty in predicting demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and high global demand for food, particularly meat,” said AFBF Senior Economist Veronica Nigh in a press release.
She added, “the trend of consumers cooking and eating at home more often due to the pandemic led to increased supermarket demand and higher retail food prices in 2020 and 2021, compared to pre-pandemic prices in 2019.”
The survey estimated the cost of the turkey is $23.99 for a 16-pound bird, up by nearly $1.50 a pound. However, the Farm Bureau noted its 'volunteer shoppers' checked prices between October 26 and November 8. According to the survey, that time period lies before many grocery stores began offering deals on whole frozen turkeys at lower prices.
The Farm Bureau said the shopping list for the volunteer shoppers included "turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers."
“Taking turkey out of the basket of foods reveals a 6.6% price increase compared to last year, which tracks closely with the Consumer Price Index for food and general inflation across the economy,” said Nigh.
Per the Farm Bureau, this is how the average price of the Thanksgiving dinner breaks down:
- 16-pound turkey: $23.99 or approximately $1.50 per pound (up 24%)
- 2 frozen pie crusts: $2.91 (up 20%)
- 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix: $3.64 (up 7%)
- Half pint of whipping cream: $1.78 (up 2%)
- 1 dozen dinner rolls: $3.05 (up 15%)
- 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.98 (up 11%)
- 1 gallon of whole milk: $3.30 (up 7%)
- 1 pound of frozen peas: $1.54 (up 6%)
- 3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $3.56 (up 4%)
- 1-pound veggie tray (carrots & celery): 82 cents (up 12%)
- Misc. ingredients to prepare the meal: $3.45 (up 12%)
- 14-ounce bag of cubed stuffing mix: $2.29 (down 19%)