Gobble, gobble! Thanksgiving meal to cost 14% more this year

Published 5:00 am Friday, November 19, 2021

Blame the supply chain disruption for yet another lifestyle change: Gathering around the Thanksgiving table next week will cost $6.41 more for a traditional holiday meal for 10 people.

That’s according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey of the cost of a Thanksgiving meal. The 14% increase is mostly due to a higher price per pound for the meal’s star: a 16-pound turkey, which is more expensive this year over last. The average price for a turkey is $1.50 more per pound over last year, the largest single increase in the cost of the meal.

“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 farm federation senior economist Veronica Nigh in a prepared statement.

The total meal will cost $53.31, or less than $6 a person, according to the farm bureau. But you can stuff it for less. A 14-ounce bag of cubed stuffing will cost 52 cents less this year than last, according to the farm bureau report. By comparison a similar Thanksgiving meal cost $49.20 a decade ago.

At Bend’s Newport Avenue Market, shoppers have been ordering prepared Thanksgiving dinners and shopping for Thursday’s feast, said CEO Lauren Redman.

“Everything has been costing more and prices are going up,” Redman said. “The supply chain and the cost of trucking is affecting prices, and we’re certainly seeing that just like every other grocery store.”

Redman also said higher wages and benefits, which is good for employees, also affect prices.

At Newport Avenue Market many customers today are taking the headache out of cooking and are buying a prepared meal, Redman said.

“We’ve have a good mix of customers ordering things they don’t feel comfortable making, like gravy,” Redman said. “They might order that and make the rest of the meal at home.”

For the past 36 years the farm bureau has sent volunteer shoppers two weeks before grocery stores discounted frozen turkeys to get the full price of a whole frozen turkey to include in the survey. When they went out Nov. 5-11, the average per pound price of a frozen turkey was $1.07 a pound. A week later the prices dropped to 88 cents per pound, which means consumers who have yet to purchase a turkey may be able to find one at a lower price than the average.

The shopping list for the traditional meal for 10 includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, coffee and milk. With a nod to the fact that most traditional meals now include a ham, potatoes and frozen green beans, the price rises to $68.72, a 14% increase over 2020, according to the farm bureau.

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