With Thanksgiving a week away, Americans will be heading to the store to pick up their meals for the big feast and wondering if they'll face sticker shock.
But even with inflation still dealing blows at the grocery store, this year may not be as expensive as last.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, this year’s turkey will cost less than last year’s, thanks to a decrease in the number of avian influenza cases, which skyrocketed last year as turkey production plummeted.
The bureau’s latest report has found that, on average, the cost for a 16-pound turkey will be $27.35, or $1.71 per pound this year.
Last year, the price for the same size bird was $28.96, or $1.81 a pound, which was up 21% compared to 2021. With bird prices rising, the cost to put together an entire Thanksgiving meal for 10 people was a record-setting $64.05 last year.
While prices this year are expected to be lower, with the cost for the same-sized meal expected to be around $61.17, the price is still 25% higher than it was in 2019, according to the bureau.
Included in the bureau’s projected meal is pumpkin pie filling, a whole gallon of milk, 12 dinner rolls, two pie shells, fresh cranberries, whipping cream, green peas, a veggie tray, sweet potatoes, cubed stuffing, and other miscellaneous ingredients needed to prepare a meal.
This year, eight items have gotten cheaper at the store, as the bureau found that turkey, pie crusts, milk, stuffing, frozen peas, cranberries, and miscellaneous ingredients all got cheaper.
Still, even with improvements at the grocery store, AFBF President Zippy Duvall shared in a press release that farmers are struggling with higher prices elsewhere.
“While shoppers will see a slight improvement in the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, high inflation continues to hammer families across the country, including the nation’s farmers,” Duvall said.
“Growing the food families rely on is a constant challenge for farmers because of high fuel, seed, fertilizer, and transportation costs, just to name a few.”
Prices, while an improvement from last year, will vary depending on where you are located regionally.
The bureau found that Thanksgiving meals will be cheapest in the Midwest ($58.66), followed by the South ($59.10), West ($63.89), and finally the Northeast ($64.38).