November 20, 2023
How much is this Thanksgiving going to cost you.
No – I’m not talking about the mental cost of sitting at a table with your relatives for a meal.
I’m talking about how much is the food is actually going to cost you thanks to all the inflation we’ve been seeing.
This year – according to the American Farm Bureau Federation — Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixins will cost you 4.5% less than it did last year.
Yay….
But not so fast!
That’s still 25% more than it was in 2019.
Boo…
Every year since 1986 the Farm Bureau Federation has been totaling up the cost of the traditional Thanksgiving meal for 10 people. They send mystery shoppers into grocery store chains across the country between November 1st through 6th to pick up the items and averages the costs.
This year the average Thanksgiving meal is going to cost $61.17 for 10 people, that’s down from the record high of $64.05 last year – and up from $53.31 in 2021.
The traditional thanksgiving shopping cart includes turkey, cubed stuffing, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh cranberries, celery, carrots, pumpkin pie mix, pie shells, whipping cream and whole milk.
Seven of the eleven surveyed items saw a price decrease since last year, including turkey, cubed stuffing, frozen peas, cranberries, pie shells, whipping cream and whole milk. The price of four items saw price increases year-over-year – fresh celery and carrots, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls and pumpkin pie mix.
But here’s the thing – the Thanksgiving meal cost also depends on where you live. It’s the cheapest in the south where the average is $59.10 for 10 people and it’s most expensive in the north east where the average cost is $64.38 for 10 people.
I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!!!
Read the report from the Farm Bureau here.
