In this 13 ON YOUR SIDE Money Guide, new numbers just in from the Michigan Farm Bureau show this year’s Thanksgiving dinner will cost you 14% more than it did last year.
The average price to feed a family of 10, last year, was $46.90. This year, it's $53.31.
The main dinner item driving that increase is the rise in turkey prices this year. The Farm Bureau says this is due to major disruptions to supply chains over the last year and half, not to mention high fuel prices and labor shortages.
The agency estimates a 16lb turkey, this year, cost about $23.99 or about $1.50 per pound. That a 24% jump from last year's prices. Surprisingly, it turns out the longer you waited, the better. The Farm Bureau initially checked the prices starting October 26, 2021. By November 5, the average per-pound price for turkeys was down from $1.50 to $1.07 per pound. By that next week, they were down to 88 cents per pound.
When you take the turkey off the menu, the average price for this year’s holiday dinner was up by about 6.6% percent, which really just accounts for general inflation.
Other items costing more this year include frozen pie crusts and dinner rolls, but not everything was more expensive. The price of stuffing mix is down by about 19%.
This is the 36th year for the Farm Bureau’s annual survey. The list of dinner items includes: turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10.
In recognition of changes in Thanksgiving dinner traditions, the agency price survey also includes ham, Russet potatoes and frozen green beans, in an expanded holiday menu. Adding these foods to the classic Thanksgiving menu increased the overall cost by $15.41, to $68.72, also a 14% increase from last year.
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