Happy Thanksgiving! Turkey feast will cause Americans 20% more this year

The price to put together a Thanksgiving dinner for loved ones this year has surged 20 percent. Up from $53.31 on average for a holiday meal for ten people in 2021 will cost $64.05 this year. Up $10.74 in just one year, the Farm Bureau conducted a survey showing the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner increased 14 percent from 2020 to 2021; significantly less than another 20 percent seen from 2021 to 2022.

A 16-pound turkey is now $28.96, up 21 percent from last year, “due to several factors beyond general inflation,” the survey states. A 14-ounce bag of cubed stuffing mix is up 69 percent, a half pint of whipping cream is up 26 percent, and a pound of frozen peas is up 23 percent.

American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Roger Cryan stated, “General inflation slashing the purchasing power of consumers is a significant factor contributing to the increase in average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner.”

“The higher retail turkey cost at the grocery store can also be attributed to a slightly smaller flock this year, increased feed costs and lighter processing weights,” Cryan adding other factors include supply-chain disruptions and the Ukraine war.

National Review reports:

Inflation is still soaring and suffocating consumers at the grocery store and the gas pump, even as the Federal Reserve has taken aggressive monetary action by repeatedly raising interest rates to curb the trend. General inflation has hovered around 7 to 9 percent for multiple months, while the most recent Consumer Price Index report for food consumed at home rose 12 percent over the last year.

Fresh turkeys have spiked in price but the less appealing whole frozen turkeys dropped from $1.11 per-pound on average for the week of November 3-9 to 95 cents the following week, according to USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data.