Drop in Food Prices Trims Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner

Here’s something to be thankful for: A traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner will cost less this year than last, a farm group says.

A dinner for 10 people this year will cost $32.37, down $1.46 from 1999, according to an annual survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation. It is the first time the Thanksgiving dinner price has dropped since 1991, the group said.

The drop reflects a decline in the cost of a wide range of food items, including milk, sweet potatoes and the turkey itself. A 16-pound turkey dropped an average of $1.71 to $12.52.

“What we are seeing is a fairly large supply of pretty much every commodity produced in this country,” said Joe Miller, an economist for the farm group. “We’ve seen low prices at the farm level for two or three years now,” and those declines are now trickling down to grocery shoppers.

Since the group started tracking Thanksgiving dinner costs in 1986, the price has risen $3.63.

This year’s survey was based on visits to supermarkets by 121 shoppers in 30 states.