Skimpier Thanksgiving

In this episode - Skimpier Thanksgiving 2022 . . .

If the portions Grandma serves are a little skimpier this Thanksgiving, blame inflation (and maybe bird flu).

According to an article in the Morning Brew e-News referencing the American Farm Bureau Federation’s yearly survey. The average cost of a typical Thanksgiving meal is up 20% from last year. It’s on track to be the costliest turkey dinner since the survey started 37 years ago.

While we’re thankful that inflation finally started to cool last month, food prices are still sky-high—for the year, the government expects they could go up as much as 10.5% (compared to a typical 2% increase). And traditional Thanksgiving fixings are no exception, according to the survey:

A 16-pound turkey costs 21% more per pound this year than last year. Prices for potatoes, pie crusts, canned pumpkin, and stuffing mix have all gone up. So don’t be surprised when you go shopping for your Thanksgiving groceries.

The only holiday staple whose price went down: is fresh cranberries (so maybe volunteer to make the cranberry sauce). Broader food inflation isn’t the only factor driving turkey prices higher this year—supply is down due to a particularly deadly bout of avian flu. But there should still be enough to go around:

Butterball, which supplies one-third of all Thanksgiving turkeys, said only 1% of its production was affected because of its safety measures.

On second thought, skimpier might be ok. Eat what you’re served, be thankful for what you have, and enjoy your Thanksgiving.

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

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