The Thanksgiving meal will be 3 to 6 percent cheaper to prepare this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The meal cost dropped 5 percent from last year with the decline attributed to the lower cost of a turkey.
National numbers show the average turkey price is $1.34 a pound. However, local stores in Northwest Georgia like Ingles, Publix and Walmart have been advertising frozen turkeys priced between 47 to 89 cents a pound. Stores often have conditions attached to the lower price such as a minimum spending amount and no more than two turkeys purchased at once.
Aldi has been advertising that a complete Thanksgiving meal for 10 people can be purchased for under $40. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average cost of a complete Thanksgiving meal for 10 people ranges between $85 and $90 dollars. It depends on the region, the store, the brands, and how many side items or desserts are prepared.
For statistical analysis, the federation uses a menu of turkey, stuffing, ham, frozen green beans, Russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, peas, rolls, a vegetable tray and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.
The overall decrease is occurring because of better product supply chains and turkey farmers recovering flocks from the avian flu that struck a few years ago. The cost of the Thanksgiving meal hit an all-time high in 2021 but has been declining since.
“Farmers are still working to rebuild turkey flocks that were devastated by avian influenza, but overall demand has also fallen. The combination will help ensure turkey will remain an affordable option for families celebrating Thanksgiving,” said AFBF Economist Faith Parum, Ph.D.
Some individual menu items, like potatoes and fresh vegetables, come with an increased cost. Potato prices are up 37 percent and fresh vegetable prices have risen 61 percent. Even so, the drop in prices for other items keeps the overall cost lower.
Natural disasters are mostly to blame for those price increases. North Carolina, the largest grower of U.S. sweet potatoes, suffered with Hurricane Helene. Other storms or weather conditions affected some crops or individual farms across the country over the past year.
Another factor in higher prices for those items are the higher supply costs. It costs more to raise a crop, yet buyers are forcing farmers to accept low crop prices, squeezing as many 15,000 farmers out of business last year.
Melody Dareing is a freelance writer for publications in the U.S, Canada, the UK and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio. She is on Facebook, X, YouTube, content on Substack, and has a podcast on Rumble.