The clock is ticking, and most families are ready for the Thanksgiving holiday. The big star of the night is usually the food.
“Just going to have the family at the house, all kinds of food, turkey and ham and dressing, potatoes. You name it, we got it,” said Kathy Schlitz, who was shopping for Thanksgiving items in San Luis Obispo.
Also looking for good deals was Nessen Schmidt.
“Most needed items were the prime rib and the salad mostly, and a few other cheeses,” Schmidt said. “You got to have the Hawaiian rolls for sure. ”
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the average costof a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 decreased this year.
“The American Farm Bureau has been doing a Thanksgiving survey for 38 years, and this year we found that the prices for the Thanksgiving dinner compared to last year were down 4.5%, and that is mainly due to a decrease in the price of turkey,” explained Betty Resnick, who is an economist for AFBF.
This year’s AFBF survey found that in 2021, the average price for a dinner for 10 was $53.31; in 2022 it was $64.05; and in 2023, the total is $61.17.
Overall, though, prices are still high.
“Prices are still high compared to pre-pandemic. We've actually seen prices increase 25% since 2019,” Resnick added.
KSBY News asked shoppers in San Luis Obispo if prices were better or worse compared to last year.
“Worse,” Schlitz said. “I worry about the families with all the little kids.”
Schmidt said he felt things were better this year.
“It's cheaper than it was last year, to put it that way,” Schmidt said.
“I'm looking ahead at the grocery store, and they're kind of still up there, the prices, I feel like, especially milk,” said Judy Mason, who was also shopping for her Thanksgiving dinner in San Luis Obispo.
According to the AFBF, some of the main ingredients that increased in price this year were pumpkin pie mix, bread rolls and veggie trays. Along with turkeys, items that went down include pie crusts and fresh cranberries.
“Food is impacted by a whole range of items,” Resnick explained. “Just like the rest of our economy, we're seeing increase in prices. Some of that has come due to increases in the prices of fuel over the past couple of years, fertilizer, labor, all packaging, all types of things across our supply chain.”
A staple food item for Thanksgiving, of course, is the turkey. So you might wonder why it is that this year we're seeing those turkey prices go down compared to 2022.
“In 2022, we saw huge issues with avian influenza across our country,” Resnick added. “We actually saw 59 million birds affected, and this year, in 2023, we have very little avian influenza, so we have much bigger supply of turkeys, which is driving down prices for consumers. ”
People in the community are using their own hacks to save some bucks.
“I usually go to Vons for the produce and then I go to Food 4 Less for canned goods,” Schlitz said.
“I would say the biggest tip was just have everybody bring something so that you don't have to do it all because that saves a lot,” Mason recommended.
Another idea to save some cash this year is considering Thanksgiving meal kits sold a retail stores. You can also keep an eye out for local turkey drives happening in our area.
