MOFB Survey-Thanksgiving Meal Cost Increases By 20 Percent Over Last Year

The Missouri Farm Bureau says the cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner will provide an example of how inflation is affected grocery prices.

For the past 37 years, Farm Bureau members throughout the nation have gone to their local grocery stores and reported back the prices of a dozen key components for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. This year’s American Farm Bureau’s informal Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey showed the highest increase since the survey’s inception, posting a nationwide average of $64.05 for a feast for 10 people. While checking in at less than $6.50 per person, the total is up an eye-opening 20% from last year’s average of $53.31, and up 37% since 2020.

The 16-pound turkey will eat up nearly half the increase at about $29, up 21% from last year.

A dozen dinner rolls are up 22% and will cost about $3.75.

Traditional sweet potatoes and a gallon of whole milk are both running just shy of $4, up 16% and 11%, respectively, from a year ago.

Now, it’s not all gloom and doom. Cranberry lovers are the real winners this year, as a 12-ounce bag of fresh berries is down 14% to $2.57.

The Farm Bureau says chain disruptions have jolted Missouri farmers and ranchers all the way back to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and have only grown more troublesome this calendar year. The war in Ukraine continues on, impacting exports of grain, fertilizer and other necessary products for both global food production and consumption. The Farm Bureau says federal spending has increased the deficit and caused inflation to spike. The Farm Bureau reports county Farm Bureaus throughout Missouri continue to partner with food banks to help address hunger year-round.