Frozen turkey sits in a refrigerator inside a grocery store in southeast Denver. The Bureau of Farms says high demand for meat and uncertainties in the supply chain have driven up the cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner.
David Zalubowski / AP
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David Zalubowski / AP
Frozen turkey sits in a refrigerator inside a grocery store in southeast Denver. The Bureau of Farms says high demand for meat and uncertainties in the supply chain have driven up the cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner.
David Zalubowski / AP
Get ready to add another stressor to your Thanksgiving break this year. The Farm Bureau reports that the cost of Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people increased 14% from last year, averaging $53.31.
Calculations of the Farm Bureau Includes turkey, stuffing mix, sweet potato, bread roll with butter, peas, cranberries, vegetable tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, coffee and milk, enough for leftovers. The turkey itself costs 24% more than it did last year, the group said; that’s $23.99 for a 16-pound turkey.
To find the average costs, the Farm Bureau used volunteer shoppers between October 28 and November 8 — but the group, which lobbies on behalf of the agriculture industry, redundant acknowledge that prices have fallen in the time since the survey. conduct. This year, many grocery stores have lowered their prices at the end of the year, so frozen turkey prices, for example, are actually a lot more affordable right now. At the time of the survey, the cost for a 16-pound bird was about $1.50 per pound. But in the last week, it has dropped to 88 cents per pound for a whole frozen turkey.
Veronica Nigh, senior economist at the Bureau of Farms, said a number of factors help explain this year’s rising costs, including supply chain disruptions, inflation and high demand for food, particularly meat.
“The trend of consumers cooking and eating at home more often due to the pandemic has led to increased supermarket demand and higher retail food prices in 2020 and 2021, compared with pre-pandemic prices in 2019. “, Nigh speak.
But rising prices are not limited to the dining table. Last week, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices have 6.2% higher in October more than a year ago. This is the biggest increase in inflation since 1990.
In separate figures released this week by the Agriculture Department, prices for Thanksgiving staples were up more than 5% year-over-year. Their list, based on numbers from the AMS Retail Market News Report for the week ended November 12, includes a 12-pound frozen turkey, sweet potato and russian fruit. blueberries, green beans and a gallon of milk.
“We know that even small price increases can make a difference to a family budget, and we’re taking every step we can to mitigate that,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“The good news is that the top turkey producers in the country are confident that everyone who wants a bird for their Thanksgiving dinner will be able to afford one and a large one will cost just $1 more.” dollars compared to last year.”
