By Whitney Flach
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 31st annual informal price survey of classic items found that consumers will pay less than $5 per person for a classic Thanksgiving dinner this year. The average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.87, a 24-cent decrease from last year’s average.
The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with leftovers.
A 16-pound turkey, came in at a total of $22.74 this year. That’s roughly $1.42 per pound, a decrease of 2 cents per pound.
Foods showing the largest decreases this year in addition to turkey were pumpkin pie mix, milk, and a veggie tray.
Items that increased modestly in price were a dozen brown-and-serve rolls, two nine-inch pie shells, one pound of green peas, 12 ounces of fresh cranberries, a half-pint of whipping cream, a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, and a three-pound bag of fresh sweet potatoes.
The average price is down slightly from last year to $49.87. After adjusting for inflation, the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner fell to $20.66, which is the lowest since 2010.
AFBF Director of Market Intelligence Dr. John Newton said, “We have seen farm prices for many foods – including turkeys – fall from the higher levels of recent years. This translates into lower retail prices for a number of items as we prepare for Thanksgiving and confirms that U.S. consumers benefit from an abundant, high-quality and affordable food supply.”
