The Cost of a 10-Person Thanksgiving Is $44.61
Photograph from cobalt123 on Flickr
"The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 23rd annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $44.61, a $2.35 price increase from last year’s average of $42.26."
How much are you spending on dinner this year? Cutting back?
[Voice of Agriculture, via Epi-Log]
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21 Comments:
Um, I definitely disagree with this. Maybe if you're only serving turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing...but last I checked a simple head of cauliflower was up around $3.99, and by the time you get the fixings for the apple or pumpkin or pecan pie, the rolls, the butter, the sides....for 10 people? More like $100. Or more. Am I doing something wrong???
juliebugsmama at 1:18PM on 11/18/08
@juliebugsmama: Yeah. I wonder about this figure, too. I'm not an all-organic frou-frou shopper by any means, and even going conventional, and using lots of mixes and processed/packaged foods, I can't imagine making a Thanksgiving meal for 10 for $45. Maybe they've figured in modest servings with no second helpings. (And no wine pairings. Heh.)
Adam Kuban at 1:31PM on 11/18/08
There is something majorly wrong with me if this is the case. I will spend well over $100 for Thanksgiving and I'm only making three dishes. I assume that alcohol was not considered. That alone is more than a pretty penny.
gammypie at 1:41PM on 11/18/08
We spend more than that just for the turkey! And I doubt a 18-20lb. turkey is that unusual. I'm guessing closer to $200, but there are three of us that split up the dishes. For 10 people? No way. And that's definitely not including alcohol.
KB in Toledo at 2:14PM on 11/18/08
Uh, no. I'm pretty sure it's more than that just to get a kosher turkey.
Stufsocker at 2:28PM on 11/18/08
I originally thought it said for 10 people, it works out to $44 per person (or approx $440), which I thought was high. But $44 for all 10 people? No way. A regular frozen store turkey will cost $15-20 before you even get going on anything else.
From the article: "The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10."
Sounds like an SE challenge!
erinlovestoeat at 2:58PM on 11/18/08
Did anyone read the article? It lays out what's in the dinner and what they spent.
The cost of a 16-pound turkey, at $19.09 or roughly $1.19 per pound, reflects an increase of 9 cents per pound, or a total of $1.46 per turkey compared to 2007. This is the largest contributor to the overall increase in the cost of the 2008 Thanksgiving dinner.
"Other items showing a price increase this year were: a 12-oz. package of brown-n-serve rolls, $2.20; a 12-oz. package of fresh cranberries, $2.46; a 30-oz. can of pumpkin pie mix, $2.34; two 9-inch pie shells, $2.26; a 14-oz. package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.57; a relish tray of carrots and celery, 82 cents; a half-pint of whipping cream, $1.70; a pound of green peas, $1.58; and three pounds of sweet potatoes, $3.12.
A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter) dropped in price by 60 cents to $2.69. A gallon of whole milk dropped 10 cents to $3.78."
Wally East at 4:02PM on 11/18/08
Yeah, for 10 people we spend around $300...
meg3j at 4:04PM on 11/18/08
No way, turkey will run more than half that and I am assuming they believe you have all the extras already in stock?
bmfesq at 4:11PM on 11/18/08
Yeah, I spent $75 at grocery store last night and have yet to buy the turkey or the wine!
MercuryJV at 4:25PM on 11/18/08
My turkey works out to be around 30 bucks alone.
Except, for our big day 2 years ago. My best friend and I always do Thanksgiving together and split work. I ordered a bone-in turkey breast from Whole Foods and he went to pick it up. I didn't ask the price, and when he went to pick it up it was 110 dollars. I wouldn't have bought it but he did, bless his heart. My grandma said everytime someone'd take a bite, she'd think "There goes 5 dollars". I'm thinking my dinner for 10 will be closer to $300.
foodandscience at 4:34PM on 11/18/08
I've been racking my brain to try to figure out how to keep my Thanksgiving for 5 under $100. I tend to go a bit overboard, so scaling back should help, but where on earth are they shopping to get all that for $44? Definitely not Manhattan.
LizNYC at 5:01PM on 11/18/08
Thank you Wally East. Even though it appears that it won't take.
ccbweb at 6:02PM on 11/18/08
My gosh, our conventionally raised turkey costs over $60. And this is barn-raised, they don't allow outdoor raised turkeys here.
OliverRanch at 8:03PM on 11/18/08
What kind of turkey do you get for $1.19/lb?
madball911 at 9:47PM on 11/18/08
You can get a complete Tofurky kit for like, $16. It's supposed to serve 4...so, $4/serving. We had that last night as an early thanksgiving.
But in all seriousness, where on the East Coast is is possible to find stuff for that little money.
And seriously, who doesn't want a little (or a whole lot of) win on Turkey day? Even if you use boxed wine...
sweethunibabi at 9:55PM on 11/18/08
I just went to a pre-Thanksgiving dinner and brought along a salad with homemade salad dressing. I spent about $25 on all the ingredients! Admittedly, I didn't use all of the oil, vinegar, etc., but I can't imagine serving 10 people for such a small amount of money.
disbelief11 at 9:33AM on 11/19/08
Does that include the booze????
Hunnyoil at 2:25PM on 11/19/08
Maybe they are getting this total by serving Swanson's Frozen Turkey TV dinners to the guests.
Hunnyoil at 2:29PM on 11/19/08
My pie ingredients topped my Thanksgiving grocery bill. Fruit, mincemeat, apple, and pumpkin. We don't need all 4, but it is a tradition. And I won't mention the wine. My turkey was the bargain.
Holly Gough at 3:15PM on 11/19/08
I think if you doubled everything but the turkey you might be credibly representing the cost. But as is: 1 lb. of green beans for 10 people? What is a relish tray of carrots and celery, and how does it cost only 82 cents while simultaneously feeding 10?
renzata at 10:31PM on 11/25/08