Survey: Hoosiers can expect to pay about 14 percent more for Thanksgiving this year

Hoosier shoppers can expect to pay about 14 percent more when shopping for Thanksgiving dinner this year than in 2021.

A survey from the Indiana Farm Bureau shows the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 this year is $61.00, or $6.10 per person.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, increases in prices were due to inflation, supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine.

U.S. Labor Department statistics show that the current rate of inflation for the average American was at 7.8 percent in October 2022.

The total market basket price of $61.00 for the Thanksgiving dinner includes a 16-pound turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, a carrot and celery veggie tray, whole milk, cranberries, whipping cream, ingredients for pumpkin pie and miscellaneous baking items.

Turkeys are being sold for approximately $1.75 per pound and $28.02 for a 16-pound bird. This is an 11 percent increase from 2021.

The main contributor for this price increase is the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which led to a decline in turkey flocks. Nationwide 8 million turkeys were lost and 171,000 were lost in Indiana due to this disease.

Despite this, turkey is still the least expensive pound-for-pound option than any other meat.

These rising prices have also caused farmers to struggle. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s revised Food Dollar Series, farmers receive about 8 percent of every food marketing dollar. This is about $4.88 in relation to the market basket price. The rest of this money goes towards processing, packaging, transportation, wholesale and retail distribution, food service preparation and marketing costs for these products.

Indiana’s market basket price is about 5 percent lower, or 31 cents less, than the U.S. average price of $6.41 per person this year. In 2021, Hoosiers averaged about $5.50 per person, or about $53.58 for the meal.

Contact reporter Violet at vcomberwilen@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @ComberWilen.

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