Thanksgiving meal will cost less this year, Farm Bureau survey says

NATIONWIDE — A Thanksgiving
feast will cost less this year,
according to an annual Farm Bureau
survey.
The national average price for
a meal for 10 people this year
is $58.08. The cost is based on a
menu of turkey, stuffing, sweet
potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberries,
a vegetable tray, and pumpkin pie
with whipped cream.
“This is a 5% decrease from 2023,
which was 4.5% lower than 2022,”
the American Farm Bureau saidin a statement. “Two years of declines
don’t erase dramatic increases
that led to a record high
cost of $64.06 in 2022.”
In 2023, the price for Thanksgiving
dinner for ten was $61.17, 4.5%
less than 2022. The 2022 cost was
20% higher than in 2021.
The average price this year is
19% higher than it was in 2019,
when the COVID-19 pandemic
caused worldwide inflation impacting
food prices.
The average price for a 16-pound
turkey is $25.67, down 6% from
2023.The turkey is traditionally
the main attraction on
the Thanksgiving table and
is typically the most expensive
part of the meal,” said
Farm Bureau Economist
Bernt Nelson in a statement.
“The American turkey
flock is the smallest it’s
been since 1985 because of
avian influenza, but overall
demand has also fallen,
resulting in lower prices
at the grocery store for
families planning a holiday
meal.”
O ther T hanksgiving i ngredients
were also cheaper
this year. However, dinner
rolls and cubed stuffing
were 8% higher, and cranberry
prices were 12% more
than in 2023.
A dding b oneless h am,
Russet potatoes and frozen
green beans to the menu
raises the average dinner
price for 10 this year to
$77.34.
W hole m ilk p rices a re
down 14.3% from last year.
Sweet potatoes are down
26.2%.
The average Thanksgiving
dinner price is lowest in
the South at $56.81 and highest
in the West at $67.81. In
the Northeast, it’s $57.36 and
$58.90 in the Midwest.
The national average cost
was calculated using surveys
completed with pricing
data from all 50 states
and Puerto Rico. Volunteer
shoppers checked prices inperson
and online, looking
for the best possible prices
without using special promotional
coupons or combinations.