Many Americans look forward to the joy of eating during the Thanksgiving holiday but aren’t so excited about the cost of the annual feast. The LSU AgCenter says it OK to set those worries aside because the cost of a typical Thanksgiving dinner has gone down again.
The American Farm Bureau says the cost of Thanksgiving dinner this year for 10 people is $48.90, a 22-cent decrease from last year’s national average. In Louisiana the news is even better, according to AgCenter nutrition agent Claire Zak, whose survey found the cost here came out to $45.11, roughly $4.51 per person.
“That is $3.79 lower than the national average and a 55-cent decrease from the state average in 2017,” Zak said.
The biggest contributor to the downward shift declining turkey prices, with the Farm Bureau survey finding turkey at $1.36 a pound, down 3% from last year.
AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry said turkey prices have been trending down over the past few years as turkey production has increased.
“Lower feed grain costs over the past few years has likely led to lower overall costs of production and has helped, in part, keep turkey production at elevated levels for 2017 and 2018,” Guidry said.
