The Farm Bureau’s annual Thanksgiving dinner survey mirrors the findings of some surveys which show the price of turkey hasn’t cause the dinner cost to go up dramatically.
Iowa Farm Bureau spokesman Tim Johnson says the survey showed a 70 cent increase in the annual meal for a total cost to feed ten people of $50.11. “It is just over, a penny over $5 a person, which is very economical for a five-person feast,” Johnson says.
The survey looks at prices of bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of celery and carrots, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, coffee, milk and the main course of turkey.
“The turkey cost did increase a little bit, but not as dramatically as you would have thought with the early spring issues with the avian influenza. And having this survey done across the entire nation, that is going to make that impact a little bit less also,” according to Johnson.
The turkey cost went up less than 15 cents a person, and some of the other items went up as well. “The things that increased the price this year were pumpkin pie mix, bread for the stuffing, pie shells,” Johnson says. “Some of the items that decreased from last year where the dairy items — mainly because they are at a five-year low — with the whipping cream and butter, those things went down a little bit.” He says lower grain and feed prices pushed dairy product prices down.
Overall, Johnson says the Thanksgiving meal continues to stay fairly steady in price every year. “It is a great value for a family when you consider you can’t buy much at many fast-food restaurants for five dollars for a person. So a good Thanksgiving meal for a family of ten or any size is still a great deal here in the United States,” Johnson says.
This is the 30th year the American Farm Bureau has conducted the nationwide survey.