Inflation is hitting Thanksgiving hard this year. A typical Thanksgiving dinner will cost an extra 14% this year, more than double the inflation rate for U.S. food prices.
A Thanksgiving feast for 10 people—including turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberry sauce, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie and coffee—will average $53.31 this year, or about $6 per person, according to the 36th annual survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation. Last year, the same meal averaged $46.90.
The 14% increase actually outpaced the 5.3% year-over-year rise in overall food prices as of last month, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report. The prices of meat, poultry and fish have been soaring, increasing 11.9% over the past year.
“Taking turkey out of the basket of foods reveals a 6.6% price increase compared to last year, which tracks closely with the consumer price index for food and general inflation across the economy,” said Veronica Nigh, the Farm Bureau’ senior economist.
Beyond inflation, several factors contributed to the higher Thanksgiving dinner costs, according to Nigh. That includes supply chain issues that have persisted over the last 20 months, as well as suppliers’ difficulty in predicting demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
