The following is an excerpt from Yahoo News via The Columbus Dispatch.
The cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner reached a record $64 this year, driven by the highest inflation rates in four decades.
For a full turkey dinner for 10 guests, the American Farm Bureau estimates the cost at $64.05, up 20% from $53.31 last year and a record in the 37 years the bureau has released the survey.
Nearly half of that cost is the turkey. The Farm Bureau found that a 16-pound turkey will cost $28.96 this year, or $1.81 a pound, up 21% from last year. The bureau noted that its “shoppers” gathered prices Oct. 18-31, before many grocery stores may have offered discounts on frozen turkeys.
“General inflation slashing the purchasing power of consumers is a significant factor contributing to the increase in average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner,” said Farm Bureau Chief Economist Roger Cryan.
In addition to turkey, the Farm Bureau’s dinner includes stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, for a family of 10 “with plenty for leftovers.”
The Farm Bureau began its Thanksgiving dinner estimate in 1986, when the cost was $28.74. The price topped $40 in 2007.
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