Thanksgiving might gobble up a few more dollars than it has in previous years. A study from the The Farm Bureau shows that Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people averages out at $53.31, 14% higher than last year.
The turkey itself costs 24% more than last year, the group says; it's $23.99 for a 16-pound turkey.
In order to find the average costs, the Farm Bureau used volunteer shoppers between Oct. 28 and Nov. 8. — but the group, which lobbies on behalf of the agricultural industry, acknowledged that prices have already fallen in the time since the survey was conducted. This year, many grocery stores lowered prices later in the year, so the price of a frozen turkey, for example, is actually a lot more affordable right now. At the time of the survey, the cost for a 16-pound bird was around $1.50 per pound. But over the last week, it had fallen to 88 cents per pound for a whole frozen turkey.
But rising prices are far from limited to the dinner table. Last week, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices were 6.2% higher in October than a year ago. It was the largest jump in inflation since 1990.
NPR
