Survey shows dip in cost of Thanksgiving dinner

According to the annual American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Thanksgiving Dinner Price Survey, a holiday meal comes in at just under $5 a serving for a family of 10, which means the entire family can feast for a total of $49.87, compared to last year’s cost of $50.11.

The survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of celery and carrots, pumpkin pie with whipped cream and beverages of coffee and milk, in quantities sufficient to feed 10 people, officials said.

The average cost of a turkey this year is $22.74 for a whole bird, or $1.42 per pound, which is a decrease of 30 cents per whole bird.

“Prices for turkey spiked last year because turkey farmers were hit hard by the avian flu virus, which devastated flocks and reduced fresh and frozen turkey stocks nationally; that’s not the case this year,” Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Director of Research and Commodity Services Dave Miller said. Turkey production is up about 8 percent this year nationally.

Rolls increased the most in this year’s holiday meal, up 9 percent, (21 cents) from last year.

This year’s Thanksgiving survey was the 31st annual study conducted by AFBF. Every region of the country was represented in the annual AFBF Thanksgiving Price Shopping Survey, with 148 volunteer shoppers participating in 40 states.