Thanksgiving is a time for family, celebration, expressing gratitude and is of course incomplete without food.
With turkey prices seeing an increase, a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation (ABFB) reveals that the average Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people will cost $50.11. This figure is an increase of 70 cents from 2014 when the feast cost $49.41.
"Our survey shows a modest increase in turkey prices compared to last year. But we're now starting to see retailers feature turkeys aggressively for the holiday. According to USDA retail price reports, featured prices fell sharply just last week and were actually lower than last year," he added," noted John Anderson, AFBF's Deputy Chief Economist.
So what does the $50.11 for the average Thanksgiving feast cover you ask? Classic items such as sweet potatoes (3 pounds), whipping cream (half a pint), cubed stuffing (14 ounces), fresh cranberries (12 ounces), pumpkin pie mix (30 ounces), milk (1 gallon), green peas (1 pound), 12 rolls with butter, 2 pie shells and a 16-pound turkey.
The center piece of the Thanksgiving dinner - the turkey - costs $23.04 this holiday season, which is an increase of a little less than 9 cents per pound when compared to 2014. Overall, the turkey was $1.39 cheaper in 2014 when compared to this year.
The turkey, however, was not the only thing on the menu to show a spike in price. Also contributing to the overall increase in cost for the average Thanksgiving dinner was the pumpkin pie mix ($3.20 for a 30 ounce can), two 9-inch pie shells ($2.47), bread stuffing ($2.61 for the 14 ounce pack) and the dozen butter rolls ($2.25).
However, not everything on the grocery list sees an increase in price. Milk saw a decline ($3.25 for a gallon instead of $3.76), fresh cranberries (12 ounces) are cheaper at $2.29 instead, compared to $2.34 in 2014. A pound of green peas also costs less at $1.52 compared to $1.55 last year. The 1-pound relish tray of celery and carrots is also cheaper at 79 cents instead of 82 cents in 2014. Half a pint of whipping cream is $1.94 vis-à-vis $2.
This year, however, is the first time when the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner has gone over $50 in the last four years. The cost hovered at the $49 mark since 2011.
Photo: Chris Fleming | Flickr
