Thanksgiving Prices on the Rise
Please pass the peas — and the wallet — Thanksgiving dinner will cost quite a bit more this year.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s survey, turkey dinner and all the fixings will cost about $49.20, or about 13 percent more than it did last year.
That’s the biggest increase in years. Blame the recent boom in crop and livestock prices, which pushed up the cost of nearly every item on the Thanksgiving shopping list.
Prices for commodities have risen due to poor weather, which shrank the size of U.S. crops, and retailers are being more aggressive about passing those costs along to consumers.
Click ahead to see how the costs break down per item. All costs are based on the prices collected by 141 volunteer shoppers in 35 states, who are asked by the AFBF to hunt for the least expensive prices, but not take advantage of promotional coupons or other purchase deals.
By Christina Cheddar-Berk,
Posted 21 November 2011
Relish Tray of Carrots & Celery
2011 Cost: 76 cents
Give your guests something to munch on while the turkey is in the oven. The average cost of a relish tray of carrots and celery fell a penny to 76 cents this year.
16-Pound Turkey
2011 Cost: $21.57
The centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, the turkey, has increased in price this year, accounting for the bulk of the meal’s higher cost. The AFBF estimates the cost of a 16-pound turkey to be $21.57, or roughly $1.35 per pound. That’s an increase of 25 cents per pound, or a total of $3.91 a turkey, from last year.
Stuffing
2011 Cost: $2.88
What’s turkey without stuffing? A 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing will cost $2.88 in 2011, compared with $2.64 a year ago.
Sweet Potatoes
2011 Cost: $3.26
There was a slight change to the upside for average cost of sweet potatoes. If you buy three pounds, they should cost about $3.26, up 7 cents from $3.19 in 2010.
Green Peas
2011 Cost: $1.68
It will cost you a bit more to eat your veggies this year. One pound of green peas will cost about $1.68 this year, up from $1.44 in 2010, according to the AFBF.
Cranberries
2011 Cost: $2.48
Cranberry prices crept up a bit from last year. At about $2.48 for one pound, the tart berry will cost about 7 cents more than in 2010.
Flour, Eggs, and Other Ingredients
2011 Cost: $8.72
Milk, at $3.66 per gallon, was another big contributor to the higher cost of this year’s meal, with the price rising 42 cents from a year ago. The cost of a half pint of cream also rose to $1.96 this year, compared with $1.70 one year ago.
In fact, one of the only items on the AFBF’s list that fell in cost was a category called “miscellaneous” that includes coffee and ingredients, such as onions, sugar, butter, and flour, which are needed to finish cooking the meal. Those items are expected to cost about $3.10 this year, or about 12 cents lower than in 2010.
Pumpkin Pie
2011 Cost: $5.55
Pumpkin pie will be a bigger splurge this year, with both the cost of the pie shell and the pumpkin pie mix rising from a year ago. Two pie shells will cost about $2.52, up 6 cents from last year, while a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix will ring up at about $3.03, or 41 cents more than it cost a year ago. Blame bad weather, which hurt supplies of the popular gourd.
