Chart Shows Impact of Inflation on Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner

3 days ago 1

Preparing a Thanksgiving dinner this year will cost less than it did last year, but is still significantly more than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, new research has shown.

The average cost of a meal for 10 people this year has gone down to $58.08 which works at at around $5.80 per person. This marks a five percent drop from the figure reported in 2023, which was 4.5 percent lower than in 2022—the year that saw a record high cost of around $65.05, according to the latest survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

The drop in prices "does not mean a return to pre-inflation prices," Betty Resnick, an economist at the AFBF, told Newsweek, with the cost of a Thanksgiving meal in 2024 still 19 percent higher than it was in 2019, the year before the onset of the pandemic, the survey found.

Resnick warned: "While we have seen our Thanksgiving survey prices decline slightly the last two years, it's important to keep in mind that prices are still nearly 20 percent higher than they were before the pandemic. A reduction in inflation does not mean a return to pre-inflation prices."

The annual Farm Bureau survey, which looked at prices from November 1 to 7, comes off the back of the recent U.S. presidential election, for which inflation was a key concern among voters.

The top-ranking issue in every survey conducted exclusively by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek, for a 16-month period in the lead up to the election, was the economy.

Americans' dissatisfaction with the economy, especially the high cost of living after post-pandemic inflation, helped usher Donald Trump back into the White House.

The Farm Bureau's national average cost for a Thanksgiving meal this year was calculated using price data from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, as well as in-store and online/app price checks by the bureau's volunteer shoppers.

The shoppers searched for "the best possible prices without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or combined purchase deals," the AFBF said.

Seven items decreased in price this year, including turkey, sweet potatoes, frozen peas, a vegetable tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie mix, pie crusts and whole milk. The four remaining items—dinner rolls, fresh cranberries, whipping cream and cubed stuffing—went up in price.

The drop in the price of turkey—the main dish of the Thanksgiving dinner—helped bring the overall cost of the meal down. The average price of a 16-pound turkey was reported to be $25.67, which amounts to $1.60 per pound, a six percent drop from last year.

Favorable weather contributed to the decline in milk prices, with the cost of whole milk decreasing by more than 14 percent.

"It is important to note, however, that milk prices vary significantly between regions in the U.S.," the survey noted.

Dinner rolls and cubed stuffing both saw an eight percent rise due to higher labor costs and other factors that drove up the cost of processed food.

Cranberry prices also jumped up nearly 12 percent since last year, when cranberries had the second largest decrease in price among all items at 18 percent.

"The increase this year puts cranberry prices closer to historic norms and, excluding last year, is the least expensive year since 2015," the survey said.

While consumers may be seeing some stability in retail food prices, farmers are facing more volatility in prices and they're also impacted by inflation, with production costs having seen steep rises over the past few years, the Farm Bureau noted.

The national net farm income is forecast to drop by $6.5 billion in 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported in September.

Resnick told Newsweek: "Elevated costs will remain something shoppers are dealing with, just like farmers and ranchers are experiencing higher input costs.

"Prices for labor, transportation and other supplies remain high, yet farm families are looking at dramatically lower farm income this year.

"A new, modernized farm bill is needed to help farmers weather the tough times and continue to put food on our Thanksgiving tables," the economist noted.