Cost of Thanksgiving dinner lower in 2023
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The Indiana Farm Bureau says Hoosier shoppers can expect to spend less when buying ingredients for their traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year.
The bureau’s annual Thanksgiving market basket survey says a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people will cost an average of $54.64, down about 10% from last year and about 11% lower than the U.S. average price.
The main driver of the decrease, according to INFB Chief Economist Todd Davis, is the lower cost of turkey this year. Shoppers can expect to pay about $22.11 for a 16-pound turkey, down about 21% from 2022.
Joe Balagtas, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, said in an interview for the Associated Press that grocery stores may use low turkey prices to attract more consumers.
“Turkey prices were really high last year, and that was caused in large part by avian influenza that decimated turkey production, also egg production,” Balagtas said. “As turkey production in the country has recovered from avian influenza, we’ve seen turkey production up, and prices down.”
The Farm Bureau’s Thanksgiving market basket survey was conducted in early November by volunteer shoppers, who collected prices on specific food items from one of their local grocery stores. They were asked to look for the best possible prices without using special coupons or purchase deals.
The total market basket price includes a 16-oound turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, a carrot and celery veggie tray, whole milk, cranberries, whipping cream, ingredients for pumpkin pie and miscellaneous baking items.
More than half the items, the bureau said, are less expensive than last year. However, some items did increase in price, with the biggest increase being for pumpkin pie filling mix and frozen peas.
While the cost is lower this year, Hoosiers are still paying 28% more for Thanksgiving dinner than they were four years ago, which is in line with the average cost nationally.
“Even though the rate of inflation is not as extreme as last year, the cumulative effect of food inflation is still very much present,” Davis said. “This includes the collective impact of labor, fuel, packaging and transportation costs, all of which are costs beyond the farm gate.”
Food costs and consumer trends around the holidays were the focus of Purdue’s Consumer Food Insights Report for October. Balagtas said food price inflation last month was measured at 3.7%, which is the lowest point in two years.
“So inflation is starting to cool, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “Of course, cooling inflation doesn’t mean that prices are falling; it’s just that they’re rising at a lower rate.”
The report found that 8 in 10 Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with a big meal. Balagtas said 95% of respondents said they would have a turkey for the big dinner, though 42% of households in the South plan to celebrate with a ham.
The Indiana Farm Bureau says only a small amount of the money spent on Thanksgiving dinner goes to farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that 14 cents of every food retail dollar can be attributed to farm production, which means that the farmer’s share of the $54.64 market basket would be less than $8.
INFB 2nd Vice President Isabella Chism says prices have also been affected by droughts and high supply costs over the last fewyears.
“It’s been a difficult few years for farmers in terms of high input costs and getting what we need to produce food, fuel and fiber for the world,” Chism said. “And the amount farmers are being paid hasn’t covered the increase of their input expenses. But Hoosier farmers continue to find ways to streamline their operations and decrease costs of production, and we are glad to see that this Thanksgiving will be a bit more affordable for consumers compared to last year.”