After the average price of Thanksgiving dinner topped $50 for the first time ever in 2015, consumers are getting a break this year: the American Farm Bureau Federation says the average cost of a feast for 10 people will be $49.87, a $0.24 drop from a year ago.
The Federation, an agricultural trade group, looked at prices for turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk — all in quantities capable of feeding 10 people with plenty of leftovers.
The star of the meal is about $0.30 cheaper per whole turkey (for a 16-pound bird) than it was in 2015, and should cost you about $22.74 this year.
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Other foods that saw a decrease in price include pumpkin pie mix, milk, and a veggie tray of celery and carrots.
You may pay slightly more for things like a dozen brown-and-serve rolls ($2.46); two nine-inch pie shells, ($2.59); one pound of green peas ($1.58); 12 ounces of fresh cranberries ($2.39); a half-pint of whipping cream ($2.00); a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing ($2.67); and a three-pound bag of fresh sweet potatoes ($3.60).
“Consumers will pay less than $5 per person for a classic Thanksgiving dinner this year,” AFBF Director of Market Intelligence Dr. John Newton said. “We have seen farm prices for many foods — including turkeys — fall from the higher levels of recent years,” which translates into lower retail prices for many items in the runup to the holiday, he adds.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist