AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- A typical Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost about 14 percent more this year than it did last year, according to a new survey.
The American Farm Bureau Federation's 36th annual Thanksgiving Dinner shopping survey shows that its "classic" feast for 10 will cost an average of $53.31 this year, up from $46.90 last year.
The shopping list for Farm Bureau’s informal survey includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers.
“Several factors contributed to the increase in average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner,” said AFBF Senior Economist Veronica Nigh.
“These include dramatic disruptions to the U.S. economy and supply chains over the last 20 months; inflationary pressure throughout the economy; difficulty in predicting demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and high global demand for food, particularly meat.”
Nigh also said consumers choosing to cook and eat at home is also having an impact on prices. "The trend of consumers cooking and eating at home more often due to the pandemic led to increased supermarket demand and higher retail food prices in 2020 and 2021, compared to pre-pandemic prices in 2019," said Nigh.
The annual survey uses Farm Bureau "volunteer shoppers" who checked prices Oct. 26 to Nov. 8 from more than 200 surveys. The timeline, which is consistent with past years, is typically about two weeks before most grocery store chains begin featuring whole frozen turkeys at sharply lower prices.
“Taking turkey out of the basket of foods reveals a 6.6% price increase compared to last year, which tracks closely with the Consumer Price Index for food and general inflation across the economy,” said Nigh.
Since 2018, the Farm Bureau has also tracked an "updated" holiday menu that includes ham, Russet potatoes and frozen green beans. Adding these foods to the classic Thanksgiving menu increased the overall cost by $15.41, to $68.72. This updated basket of foods also increased in price (up 14%) compared to 2020.