Posted on 11/22/2008 5:15:10 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Stuffing yourself with stuffing and turkey and mashed potatoes and all the fixings will cost more this Thanksgiving than last year, according to the annual market basket survey from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.
A traditional holiday meal for a family of eight will cost $42.37 this year, $2.72 more than the $39.66 spent on the 14 items in the basket in 2007.
Practically every item went up in price this year, except for some of the vegetables including sweet potatoes, carrots and peas.
Even with the higher prices, Farm Bureau spokesman Paul Ketring said a homemade Thanksgiving dinner is still pretty much a bargain.
"For around $5.30 per person, families can enjoy a bountiful holiday meal," Ketring said. "We are very fortunate to have this abundance and affordability coming from our farms."
The big ticket item in the Thanksgiving market basket is the turkey, and the average "unadvertised" price for a 16-pound bird was up 13 cents.
"We remind consumers many will be able to take advantage of special in-store promotions or coupons resulting in much lower prices for turkeys than reported in this survey," Ketring said.
Potatoes had the biggest price jump from last year, up 32 percent from $2.19 a 5-pound bag in 2007 to $2.90 this year.
The Farm Bureau said fewer acres of potatoes were planted this year and poor weather early in the year contributed to a smaller crop and the resulting higher prices.
Dairy prices and global demand shot up in 2007 but subsided in 2008, so the cost of a gallon of milk in this market basket survey was up only four cents to $3.39 a gallon from the 2007 survey. Last year, the price of milk was 66 cents higher than the year before.
Sweet potatoes were down 15 cents for a 3-pound bag, dropping to $1.11 a bag from $1.26 in 2007.
The market basket also includes a 14-ounce package of stuffing, a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, a package of two, 9-inch frozen pie shells, a 12-ounce package of brown-and-serve rolls, a 1-pound package of frozen peas, half-pounds of carrots, celery and onions, a 12-ounce package of fresh cranberries and a half-pint of whipping cream.
When the Farm Bureau started doing the Thanksgiving market basket survey 17 years ago, the 14 items in the basket cost $26.50, so the cost of the traditional dinner has gone up 60 percent in 17 years.
$0.39 a lb for turkey at the Safeway around the corner. I was happy with that price.
My duaghter is coming home from college and for Thanksgiving wants grilled cheese, tomato soup and punkin pie.
Food prices still aren’t coming down and the market has no where to go but up. But hey, WAMU is offering free outgoing wire transfers if you open up an account with them.
So hey America, how’s that ‘Ownership Society’ for illegal aliens working for ya now?
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020617-2.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020617.html
Since neither you nor your brother are coming home, (yes, that’s a guilt trip) I have made reservations. Gramma, Papa and I will be going out.
Michael Dean’s has something for everone, turkey and all the trimmings for Gramma,
anything your Papa could ever want, and Clam bake and S’mores bar for moi. Happy Birthday to me!
Did you catch that? Thanksgiving and Birthday without my chicks....
feelin’ guilty yet? LOL
That anything costs slightly more now, than in the past is of no big concern to me. I foresee bigger gaps in price and availibility in the future. I challange any person to keep track. We will devolve to 1928 - 19545 a “Chicken in every pot”. If we’re lucky.
I’m just sayin...
I had tomato soup, grilled cheese and chocolate chess pie tonight for supper. Yummy!
everone should be everyone
37-cents/pound at my local grocer. However, I have a farm-raised AND a wild turkey in my freezer right now, so no need to buy them this year. (I’ll roast them in February as a treat in the dark days of winter.)
Mother-in-Law is doing a 25 pounder for us all on Thanksgiving. We’ll be coming home with leftovers, no doubt, and she’s always willing to give me the carcass for soup stock....if I give some back to her. ;)
If you can’t find something to eat in America on ANY given day, you ain’t tryin’ hard enough. ;)
Foodie Ping! :)
So is it inflation OR deflation?
“I foresee bigger gaps in price and availability in the future.”
Add to that the number of people that would starve to death in front of a full ‘fridge and pantry because they can’t cook for themselves, and I won’t disagree with your statement.
Those of us that can bake bread, plant and tend a garden, cook from scratch and sew on a button will be all-powerful in the near future. :)
It’s “ObamaNation.” ;)
I had to read it twice to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. $42.37 for a family of eight? The turkeys up here are going for $1.99 a pound, so a 20 lb. turkey just about ate up that cost.
Heck, 39 cent a pound turkey and all the fixins’ made from scratch, I can’t imagine a cheaper Thanksgiving meal.
Canned pumpkin and cranberries, well, OK.
Did I tell you we grow our own potatoes and garlic...
We’re going to son’s in-laws so it’s real cheap for us!
It will be only the second time in about 30 years that I don’t bake one. I think I”m going to miss all the pies!
“Yah but the oil companies are paying for it...”
I didn’t know that. Guess I’ll tell our son to pick up a couple hundred of them in that case.
I love these articles. One 14 ounce box of stuffing...for eight people??? Are they all supermodels on a diet? I make my own using real bread, onions, celery, mushrooms, real butter and my own season mix...I’m guessing my mixture costs more than Stove Top.
I just find it amusing how they come up with their expert analysis.
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