Thanksgiving dinner cost steady

Despite rising food costs for some items at the grocery store, the cost for the average Thanksgiving dinner for 10 is only slightly higher this year than it was in 2013.

The annual American Farm Bureau Federation survey found the average cost this year at $49.41, up 37 cents from last year, but still less than $5 per serving. 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.

Turkey, a staple of the Thanksgiving meal, saw retail prices decline slightly, with a whole bird averaging $21.65, or $1.35 per pound.

'Turkey production has been somewhat lower this year and wholesale prices are a little higher, but consumers should find an adequate supply of birds at their local grocery store,” said John Anderson, American Farm Bureau deputy chief economist. 'Some grocers may use turkeys as ‘loss leaders,' a common strategy deployed to entice shoppers to come through the doors and buy other popular Thanksgiving foods.”

Food items showing the largest increases this year were sweet potatoes, dairy products and pumpkin pie mix. Sweet potatoes came in at $3.56 for three pounds. A half pint of whipping cream was $2; a gallon of whole milk, $3.76; and a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $3.12.

A one-pound relish tray of carrots and celery ($.82) and one pound of green peas ($1.55) also increased in price. A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (butter, evaporated milk, onions, eggs, sugar and flour) rose to $3.48.

Besides turkey, other items that declined modestly in price included a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.54; 12 ounces of fresh cranberries, $2.34; two nine-inch pie shells, $2.42; and a dozen brown-n-serve rolls, $2.17.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has conducted its annual survey since 1986.

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