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11/20/2024 | News release | Archived content
How is Inflation Impacting This Year’s Thanksgiving Dinner
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How is Inflation Impacting This Year's Thanksgiving Dinner?
November 20, 2024
Shoppers may be feeling extra thankful this year when they go to their local grocery store to pick up a Thanksgiving turkey.
The average price for a turkey this holiday is projected to be lower for the second year in a row, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual Thanksgiving report. The lower cost for the meal's star player will be welcome news, but the savings may be offset by some sides remaining stubbornly expensive.
The Farm Bureau estimates that the average price for a turkey this Thanksgiving will be down 6.1% to $25.67, or $1.68 per pound. The lower prices come despite fears that the spread of bird flu in American poultry farms would result in lower production. Instead, lower costs for feed grains helped keep prices down.
Cheaper poultry is only part of the story, as the costs for many side dishes continue to rise. Commodities research firm Expana estimates that the cost of mashed potatoes will be steeper this year. Unfavorable weather and changing consumer demand have lifted U.S. potato prices by 7.6% over the past year.
Expana's Thanksgiving Pecan Pie Index is up 8% from last year, due mostly to higher pecan prices offsetting lower prices for sugar, butter, and vanilla.
All told, the Farm Bureau estimates that the average cost of a Thanksgiving meal for a group of 10 will average $58.08. That's down 5% from last year, and 9% lower than the record of $64.06 set in 2022. That was the highest since the Farm Bureau began its yearly assessment in 1986.