The cost of your Thanksgiving meal might be a bit cheaper this year
You might feel a bit heavier on Thanksgiving after that second helping of turkey and mashed potatoes. But the hit to your wallet for cooking the feast might be lighter than the last couple years.
The average cost to prepare a Thanksgiving meal is expected to be lower this year for the second year in a row, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The group’s 39th annual survey puts the average cost for a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people at $58.08, down about 5% from a year ago. Prices in the South were also slightly below the national average, AFBF said.
The survey hit a record price of $64.05 for a party of 10 in 2022 as consumers were hit hard by inflation caused by increasing demand and supply chain disruptions coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though prices overall have come down the past two years, the combined cost of the turkey and all the trimmings will still be about 19% higher than the pre-pandemic average, AFBF said.
The survey of prices includes 11 staple Thanksgiving ingredients, such as a 16-pound turkey and cranberries. Other items include stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, a veggie tray, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream, which AFBF said is sufficient to feed a party of 10.
But the list does not include beer, wine or liquor.
“The turkey is traditionally the main attraction on the Thanksgiving table and is typically the most expensive part of the meal,” AFBF economist Bernt Nelson said in a news release. “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.”
The average price of a 16-pound bird was $25.27, AFBF said, down about 6% on a per-pound basis compared to a year ago.
“We should all be thankful that we live in a country with such an abundant food supply,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in the release. “We are seeing modest improvements in the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for a second year, but America’s families, including farm families, are still being hurt by high inflation.”
AFBF said its volunteer shoppers surveyed prices in all 50 states and Puerto Rico during the first week of November to compile the report.
Thanksgiving meal costs
The American Farm Bureau Federation compared the prices of 11 ingredients in quantities sufficient to feed 10 people.
- 16-pound turkey: $25.67 or $1.60 per pound (down 6.1%)
- 14 ounces of cubed stuffing mix: $4.08 (up 8.2%)
- 2 frozen pie crusts: $3.40 (down 2.9%)
- Half-pint of whipping cream: $1.81 (up 4.7%)
- 1-pound of frozen peas: $1.73 (down 8.1%)
- 1 dozen dinner rolls: $4.16 (up 8.4%)
- Misc. ingredients to prepare the meal: $3.75 (down 5.1%)
- 30-ounce pumpkin pie mix: $4.15 (down 6.5%)
- 1-gallon of whole milk: $3.21 (down 14.3%)
- 3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $2.93 (down 26.2%)
- 1-pound veggie tray (including carrots and celery): $0.84 (down 6.4%)
- 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.35 (up 11.8%)
Source: American Farm Bureau Federation
About the Author
J. Scott Trubey is the senior editor over business, climate and environment coverage at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He previously served as a business reporter for the AJC covering banking, real estate and economic development. He joined the AJC in 2010.
