The Iowa Farm Bureau’s annual survey shows the cost of a turkey dinner is up slightly this year. It’s the 25th annual survey by the Farm Bureau looking at the cost of several items used to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people.
Those ingredients cost $44.61 in this year’s survey up 56 cents from last year. Iowa Farm Bureau research director, Dave Miller, says it’s an increase that’s consistent with the economy. He says milk is up 30 to 40 cents a gallon, while turkey is down about one dollar a pound for a 16 pound turkey. Miller says the increase is about two-percent, which is the current level of inflation.
Miller says food prices have remained stable and tend to go up in line with the general economy, although he says food prices have actually increase less than inflation in general. He says we are down to about 105 of our disposable income that we spend on food.
While the cost of the dinner is up this year, it is down over $1.14 compared to two years ago. The survey found the price of the dinner rose by $11.10 this decade, including two years — 2002 and 2004 — when the cost dropped from the previous year. Over the 25 years of the survey, the cost of the meal has increase $14.73 from its starting price of $28.74 in 1986.