The cost of putting Thanksgiving dinner on the table should be lower this year.
The annual market basket survey from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation reports the average Thanksgiving dinner for eight will cost $38.53 this year, down $3.84 from last year. The Federation’s Paul Ketring says a number of factors have lead to lower prices says the global economic crisis has resulted in lower demand, supplies of many popular items are stronger this year, and energy prices have dropped as well.
The average price for a 16-pound turkey dropped $1.55 from last year. Ketring says that’s because many turkeys from last year were put in cold storage for this Thanksgiving, combined with a large harvest this year as well.
Ketring says filling for pumpkin pies and sweet potatoes were among the few items to see a mild increase in prices this year.
The annual survey tracks average prices for 14 traditional Thanksgiving foods.
