November 16, 2009
Cost of Thanksgiving meal in the US about 4 percent less than in 2008
The cost of a turkey and all the fixings for a traditional Thanksgiving holiday dinner will be about 4 percent less this year compared with a year ago.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual survey of 12 items making up the meal, the total cost was US$42.91 for a family of 10, down US$1.70 from a year ago. The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk.
The biggest price declines were seen for whole turkeys and dairy products. The average cost for a 16-pound turkey was US$18.65, or about US$1.16 per pound, down about 3 cents a pound from last year. The price for a gallon of milk fell US$0.92 to US$2.86 and was the largest contributor to the overall decrease in the cost of a 2009 Thanksgiving dinner.
About half the items remained the same or changed only slightly from last year. Three items increased in price from last year. These included canned pumpkin pie mix, frozen pie shells and bread stuffing. AFBF's release said the uptick in price for these items was modest at 5 percent but were the result of energy intensive processing and packaging of the products versus the other items.
"Consumers are benefiting at the grocery store from significantly lower energy prices and the effects of the economic slowdown," said Jim Sartwelle, AFBF economist. "Again this year, the cost per person for this special meal is less than a typical 'value meal' at a fast-food outlet."
