Inflation increasing just in time for the Holidays

Industry experts are already predicting record-high prices for turkey this Thanksgiving as the prices for other dinner staples continue to see prices rise. (Getty)

by: Kayla Welytok

Posted: Oct 16, 2022 / 10:21 PM EDT

Updated: Oct 16, 2022 / 10:21 PM EDT

(WSYR-TV)- With inflation increasing just in time for the holidays, shoppers are expected to pay record-high prices on all holiday products.

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, many shoppers are becoming reluctant to pay these prices, ultimately coming up with alternatives to Thanksgiving dishes.

Unfortunately, the epicenter of a solid Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, will be hurting your wallet the most.

According to abcnews, the cost of a turkey has been impacted due to the bird flu and inflation. Skinless turkey breast reached a record high of $6.70 per pound in September, which is up 112% from 2021. The previous record-high price was $5.88 per pound in November 2015, during the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak.

The Farm Bureau has reported that the average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast for 10 is $53.31, or less than $6.00 per person. This is a $6.41 or 14% increase from last year’s average of $46.90.

The Farm Bureau’s website shared a precise list of ingredients for what a typical family usually buys for a Thanksgiving dinner with this year’s inflation added.

16-pound turkey: $23.99 or approximately $1.50 per pound (up 24%)
2 frozen pie crusts: $2.91 (up 20%)
30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix: $3.64 (up 7%)
Half pint of whipping cream: $1.78 (up 2%)
1 dozen dinner rolls: $3.05 (up 15%)
12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.98 (up 11%)
1 gallon of whole milk: $3.30 (up 7%)
1 pound of frozen peas: $1.54 (up 6%)
3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $3.56 (up 4%)
1-pound veggie tray (carrots & celery): 82 cents (up 12%)
Misc. ingredients to prepare the meal: $3.45 (up 12%)
14-ounce bag of cubed stuffing mix: $2.29 (down 19%)

“Several factors contributed to the increase in the average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner,” says AFBF Senior Economist Veronica Nigh. “These include dramatic disruptions to the U.S. economy and supply chains over the last 20 months; inflationary pressure throughout the economy; difficulty in predicting demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and high global demand for food, particularly meat,” she explained. Further, “The trend of consumers cooking and eating at home more often due to the pandemic led to increased supermarket demand and higher retail food prices in 2020 and 2021, compared to pre-pandemic prices in 2019.”