The juicy turkey, decadent stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes and mouth-watering pumpkin pie: it’s the perfect, traditional Thanksgiving meal, but it can add up to a costly grocery bill.
Ahead of Thanksgiving, food prices are already top of mind for many shoppers. The price of groceries continues to be wildly high, costing about 28% more than in 2019. The past year alone has seen a 1.1% price increase, according to the Consumer Price Index.
Despite the inflated prices, there is some good news: your Thanksgiving feast might cost a bit less this year.
Experts say Thanksgiving could cost less
Each year, the University of Tennessee Extension, led by Ann Berry, releases a study about the price of Thanksgiving dinner. The research team looks at the meal costs to feed a group of 10 with a traditional turkey feast.
To find the cost, experts shop at 16 big-box and local grocery stores all around Tennessee. They shopped from Nov. 1 through Nov. 8 for the same 23 ingredients at each store, then averaged the total cost at all the stores.