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Fewer turkeys, more inflation mean costlier holiday meal
By Carole Cloudwalker
This document was published online on Friday, November 28, 2008
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A slight nationwide turkey shortage and somewhat higher prices for other groceries mean Thanksgiving dinner likely is costing more this year.
But there are Grand Canyon-size gaps in the local prices of some items, such as turkeys, making it difficult for grocers to generalize about the prices of entire Thanksgiving dinner ingredient prices this season.
The good news for travelers is gasoline is more affordable for those going over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house for the holiday.
The cost of serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal to a family of 10 in 2008 is estimated at $53, according to some national sources.
That meal would include turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, yams, a vegetable dish such as green bean casserole and dinner rolls.
The cost of such a feast has increased about 3 percent from a year ago across the country and nearly 35 percent more since 2006, according to Internet sources.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports 2008 turkey production is down about 600,000 birds from almost 272 million turkeys in '07.
But one Cody market ran out of all but its higher-priced turkeys (more than $1 per pound) with just three days to go before the holiday, while the other was selling the big birds for 38 cents per pound with a $25 purchase or 48 cents per pound with no other purchase.
Randy Titmus, manager of the Cody Albertsons store, thinks the national trends may not apply at his grocery store.
“Our turkeys are cheaper this year than last year,” Titmus said.
This season the birds are selling for 38 cents per pound, while in 2007 they were 59 cents per pound, Titmus said.
Other feast ingredients are about the same price as last year, though Albertsons is offering 15 pounds of potatoes for $3.60 per pound, and last year the special involved just 10 pounds. The manager did not recall last year's price for potatoes.
Fresh yams are a “little bit more,” or 98 cents per pound as opposed to 79 cents in 2007, Titmus added.
He said far and away the most popular holiday meal remains turkey.
“It's all about turkey for Thanksgiving,” he adds.
And turkey prices never drop below those offered this week, even at Christmas, when people might turn instead to roast beef or ham, he added.
But even spiral cut hams were selling for $1.88 per pound at Albertsons this week, while last year they went for $2.49 per pound, making it hard to say things cost more in 2008, Titmus said.
In terms of other grocery items for the holiday, Titmus said farmers were harvesting many grain crops when gasoline prices still were high, and that cost has been passed along to consumers of cereals and other grain products.
“We're still trying to sell what was harvested and shipped when the price of gas was high,” he said. “There's a bit of a lag.”
Other local prices (based on the two Cody grocery suppliers' rates) for items that could go into the Thanksgiving market basket include:
-15 pounds of Russet potatoes for $3.60.
-Green beans for 59 cents per can, cream of mushroom soup for less than $1 per can, French fried onions at about $2.50 per 3-ounce can (for green bean casserole).
-Cranberry sauce for about $1 per can.
-Yams for $1.50 per large can.
-Cubed stuffing mix at $3.49 for a 1 lbs., 3 oz. bag.
-Brown-and-serve rolls for $1.99 per dozen.
(Prices, of course, vary with brand names and stores.)
Desserts and supplementary treats such as a relish tray of olives, pickles, stuffed celery and carrot sticks can boost the meal's cost, though some of these items are not expensive.
But a homemade Thanksgiving dinner still remains a bargain at an average of less than $6 per person, home economists say.
Plus, the feast has leftover value that is not factored into the initial cost, with the turkey carcass valuable for making soup and leftover meat good for sandwiches and turkey and gravy meals for days after the holiday.
The price of the Thanksgiving meal can be pared down even further if hosts ask guests to bring one or more of the side dishes.
One tip for keeping the meal affordable is to use cash only when shopping, and simply stop spending when the money is gone, home economists suggest.
(Carole Cloudwalker can be reached at carole@codyenterprise.com.)
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