The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey shows consumers will pay 5% less for Thanksgiving dinner this year than in 2024, despite an increase in wholesale turkey prices. It is the third straight decline in the cost of Thanksgiving dinner after a record high in 2022.
AFBF said Wednesday that the cost of classic Thanksgiving dishes for 10 people will cost $55.18 this year.
The bill for the classic dinner “is a mixed bag of savings and squeezes,” the group said.
“Four of the items dropped in price this year – the main turkey dish, cubed stuffing, fresh cranberries and dinner rolls. However, five items – sweet potatoes, frozen green peas, a vegetable tray of carrots and celery, whole milk and whipping cream – rose in price. Pumpkin pie mix and pie shells remained virtually unchanged from 2024.”
"For one week leading up to Thanksgiving each year, volunteer shoppers from all 50 states and Puerto Rico visit their local grocery store (or local store’s website) to survey the prices of items used in a classic Thanksgiving feast," AFBF said.
The survey added prices for ham, Russet potatoes and frozen green beans in 2018 “to reflect a wider variety of Thanksgiving favorites,” AFBF said. “When including the additional items, the meal cost rises to $77.09, or $7.71 per person,: making the price of the updated meal “virtually unchanged from last year – only 28 cents cheaper than 2024 – due to increases in all three additional ingredients.”
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here
Turkey is “often the biggest ticket item,” accounting for an average of 43% of the total dinner cost. But this year, a 16-pound turkey only accounts for 39% of the cost of the dinner, AFBF says.
“While the wholesale price for fresh turkey is up from 2024, grocery stores are featuring Thanksgiving deals and attempting to draw consumer demand back to turkey, leading to lower retail prices for a holiday bird," AFBF said in a press release.
President Donald Trump has been touting the price of a Walmart Thanksgiving meal as 25% cheaper than last year’s. However, Walmart’s selection of products includes fewer and different items than last year’s.
Side dishes cost more this year. "Items like fresh vegetables and sweet potatoes posted some of the most notable increases," wrote AFBF economists Faith Parum and Samantha Ayoub. "A veggie tray is up more than 61% and sweet potatoes are up 37%."
According to the latest Consumer Price Index, rising beef prices continue to put pressure on consumers, as the cost of eating at home rose 0.3% in September, driven largely by increases for beef, pork, bakery products and cereal.
Grocery prices rose 2.7% from September 2024 to this September, according to the CPI, which was released Oct. 24 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics after being delayed by the government shutdown.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
