PHOTO: Jackie Johnson
If you’re buying the Thanksgiving dinner, expect to pay five percent more than last year. That’s according to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, which surveyed grocery stores in almost two dozen cities. It found that the typical Thanksgiving dinner for ten people will cost $50.86, about three percent higher than a similar Farm Bureau survey nationally.
In Wisconsin, a 16 pound turkey will cost just over four-percent more than last year, at just over $23. Almost everything else is also higher, including milk, cranberries, sweet potatoes, peas, and pumpkin pie mix. The only item that went down was a dozen rolls, which cost 25 cents less on average at $1.85.
Amy Eckelberg of the state’s Farm Bureau says Wisconsin farmers are proud to make much of the food served at Thanksgiving celebrations — like turkey, cranberries, and potatoes. However, the farmers don’t share much of the bounty. Once the middlemen and others get their cut, the farmers’ share of the Thanksgiving meal is only about 16 percent of what the shopper pays.