Thanksgiving dinner will be taking a much bigger bite out of your grocery bill this year. In fact, the cost of buying a turkey and the trimmings to feed a family of 10 is the highest it’s been years, according to the latest American Farm Bureau Federation survey. The Farm Bureau’s 37th annual survey puts the average cost of a classic Thanksgiving feast at $65.04 this year, which is a $10.74, or 20%, increase over last year’s average $53.31 tab.
And it’s well above the 2020 price tag — the cheapest Thanksgiving in a decade — which had weighed in at just $46.90. Blame inflation — not to mention several factors, including bird flu and record-high feed prices, driving up the price of turkeys this year. In fact, every single item on the Farm Bureau’s Thanksgiving shopping list — except for the fresh cranberries — costs more than it did last year. “General inflation slashing the purchasing power of consumers is a significant factor contributing to the increase in average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner,” said AFBF chief economist Roger Cryan, in a statement. “Other contributing factors to the increased cost for the meal include supply-chain disruption and the war in Ukraine.” Each year, the Farm Bureau sends volunteer shoppers to visit supermarkets and check food prices in stores across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, as well as online using grocery-store apps and websites, in the weeks leading up to the November holiday. Then the survey itemizes the prices of the foods tr …