Study: Thanksgiving Dinner Will Be More Expensive This Year, Costs Up 14%
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Rising rates of inflation are not limited to what you're paying at the pump -- it might impact how you plan to celebrate Turkey Day.
A new study from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) says the cost of Thanksgiving dinner this year is expected to go up by 14% on average.
Based on recent price trends, the cost for a gathering of 10 people would be around $53.31, compared to $46.90 in last year's study.
Surveys were done with data from the 50 states and Puerto Rico.
The study's Thanksgiving grocery lists included items like a turkey, stuffing and rolls, among several others.
While current economic conditions, such as the supply chain issues, have contributed to more expensive items at the grocery stores, consumers' own behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic have had an unintentional effect.
"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," AFBF Senior Economist Veronica Nigh said.
The price for turkeys has seen the biggest increase and will be 24% more expensive on average.
But there might be a silver lining to it all.
Shoppers for the Farm Bureau surveyed store prices from October 26 to November 8, and overall stores this year are putting out deals and discounts later compared to past years, meaning that it might be less expensive to buy a turkey now compared to a couple of weeks ago.