Americans Can Save A Little on Thanksgiving Dinner

It remains to be seen whether Americans will be social distancing at their Thanksgiving gatherings, keeping masks on and silencing festive sing-alongs inside their homes, as some states have suggested or mandated. But one thing is clear. They will be paying a little less this year for the average traditional holiday meal. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 35th annual survey shows the average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving feast for ten remains affordable at $46.90 or less than $5.00 per person. This is a $2.01 decrease from last year’s average of $48.91.

“The average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner is the lowest since 2010,” said AFBF Chief Economist Dr. John Newton. “Pricing whole turkeys as ‘loss leaders’ to entice shoppers and move product is a strategy we’re seeing retailers use that’s increasingly common the closer we get to the holiday,” he explained.

Turkeys, the classic entrée on the Thanksgiving menu, will cost about $1.21 per pound this year or $19.39, down 7% from last year. AFBF’s survey results show that retail turkey prices are also the lowest since 2010.

The shopping list for AFBF’s informal survey of a typical Thanksgiving spread for ten people includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk – in enough quantities to satisfy America’s love for Thanksgiving leftovers.

In addition to turkey, foods that showed slight price declines include whipping cream and sweet potatoes. Foods showing modest increases this year included dinner rolls, cubed bread stuffing and pumpkin pie mix. 

While turkey is the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table, AFBF acknowledged the holiday’s dinner traditions have changed for some families. So its price survey also includes ham, potatoes and frozen green beans. Adding these foods to the classic Thanksgiving menu increased the overall cost by $13.21, to $60.11.  But even with these additional items, the cost of the expanded Thanksgiving meal is still down compared to 2019.

This year’s national average cost, says AFBF, was calculated using more than 230 surveys completed with pricing data from all 50 states. Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers were encouraged to check prices online using grocery store apps and websites due to the pandemic. They looked for the best possible prices without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals.

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation