Bloombergreports that it costs less make a Thanksgiving dinner this year than it did in 2008. A report from the American Farm Bureau Federation says a Thanksgiving dinner feed 10 people will cost $42.91. This is a drop of 3.8% from last year. A drop in the price of milk and the turkey helped lower the price this year.
This year's survey, released yesterday, put the cost of feeding 10 people at $42.91. The grocery bill fell 3.8 percent, the steepest reduction since its 4.3 percent drop at the start of this decade. The slump was also the first since 2004.
"Consumers are benefiting at the grocery store from significantly lower energy prices" and the effects of a U.S. recession, Jim Sartwelle, an economist at the bureau, said in a statement. Crude oil, for example, has cost 44 percent less this year on average than it did in the same period of last year in New York trading.
Milk dropped the most out of a dozen items surveyed, according to the bureau. The cost of a gallon of whole milk fell 92 cents to $2.86. Turkey slid 44 cents to $18.65, based on the cost of a 16-pound bird. These two items accounted for most of the overall decline, amounting to $1.70.
If you compared the cost to make a Thanksgiving dinner today to what it cost just four years ago it is much higher this year as food prices have really soared over the past few years. 2009 has been an exception from the trend. The price to make a Thanksgiving dinner in 2005 was $36.78. That is nearly 17% less than what is costs today. You can see a chart showing price changes for the 25 years here on fb.org.
