Have you bought everything for Thanksgiving yet?
The good news is that, this year, the typical Thanksgiving dinner should actually cost less than it did last year. But a big spike in prices since the pandemic means you’re still going to pay a lot more than you did a few years ago.
Numbers released by the American Farm Bureau Federation puts the average price of Thanksgiving dinner for a group of 10 this year at $61.17, down about $3 from last year.
Prior to 2021, the price usually came in under $50. At a regional level, the northeast is the priciest with an average price of $64.38. The south, which the Farm Bureau includes both Virginia and Maryland in, will see an average dinner price of $59.10.
Price data on turkey, cubed stuffing, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh cranberries, celery, carrots, pumpkin pie mix, pie shells, whipping cream and whole milk are what’s used to determine the cost.
Turkey prices are down about 5% from last year and the traditional bird is typically the most expensive part of the meal.
Yi Xu, an economics professor at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business, noted that’s the biggest reason why dinner will be about 4.5% cheaper, on average, this year.
“We have had a good season for turkey farms. We don’t have significant bird flu, those kinds of things going on this year,” he said. “Also things like eggs, those things are down as well … Some milk products, dairy products are down as well. Those are also important items for Thanksgiving dinner.”
The price of stuffing, frozen peas, cranberries, pie shells, whole milk and whipping cream are all also down a little bit this year. Meanwhile, sweet potatoes, carrots and celery, as well as dinner rolls and pumpkin pie will cost you more.
But overall, what you’re seeing now might be the new normal for the next several years.
“Food prices depend on a lot of things in addition to general inflation in the economy,” Xu said.
According to Xu, supply and demand is influenced by a lot of things besides just disease.
“Factors such as geopolitical issues, those will impact the supply of food in dramatic ways, just like oil. But I think in the long term, as long as the general inflation rate is stabilized, probably the food prices will stabilize as well.”
