For the fourth year in a row, the cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 10 has increased, according to the LSU AgCenter, which annually compiles a supermarket survey of common holiday items.
This year’s survey was conducted two weeks ago and concluded the average holiday meal will cost $49.81, up $1.31 from last year. LSU AgCenter area nutrition agent Quincy Cheek notes that if you’re planning on deep frying your turkey this year, there’s an additional cost of between $28.88 and $43.49 for three gallons of peanut oil.
The LSU AgCenter Thanksgiving survey is similar to one conducted annually by the American Farm Bureau Federation. The federation’s estimate on a meal for 10 this year is slightly higher, at $50.11, up 70 cents over last year. Much of the increase is due to an increase in turkey prices, spurred by the avian flu outbreak this summer that curtailed production and led the average wholesale price per pound to rise 9% to $1.36 this year, says LSU AgCenter Economist Kurt Guidry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects a less than 1% increase in fruit and vegetable prices this year, Guidry adds.
The food item with the most notable decrease in both the Farm Bureau and LSU AgCenter surveys is milk, which is down about 50 cents per gallon from last year.
The American Farm Bureau Federation began surveying the average cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 10 back in 1986, when the cost was only $28.74. The lowest average cost it recorded since then was in 1987 when the figure dropped to $24.51.
“The LSU AgCenter and Farm Bureau evaluations took into account the lowest possible prices without consideration of special promotional coupons or purchase deals that many retail grocers offer during the holiday season,” Cheek notes.
The LSU AgCenter has the full story and a list of tips for savvy food shopping this holiday season.
