Thanksgiving costs in Virginia rise but remain affordable

Virginians will be able to feed their families a Thanksgiving meal for a little more than $4.58 per person this year, according to an informal price survey conducted across the state by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

The survey of the price of basic items found on Americans’ Thanksgiving tables places the average cost of a traditional meal for 10 adults this year at $45.89. The dinner menu includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

VFBF reports this year’s average is a little more than 12.6 percent higher than in 2007, when the average total price was $40.74.

“We are seeing higher prices for livestock than in the past, and energy costs are the big culprit,” said Jonah Bowles, VFBF agricultural risk marketing coordinator. “The average cost of the centerpiece of the meal, a turkey, has risen by more than $2 this year. Processed food prices have also increased, due to the rise in fuel costs, and that will be reflected in this year’s cost to the consumer.”

Based on supermarket price checks, Farm Bureau found the average cost of a 16-pound turkey was $20.32, or $1.27 a pound. That’s up 13 cents from last year’s average of $1.14 per pound.

The organization found that the average price for a gallon of milk was $4; for peas, $1.77; for a 3-pound bag of sweet potatoes, $3; for celery, $1.87; for carrots, $1.46; for pie shells, $1.89; for whipping cream, $1.74; for canned pumpkin pie filling, $2.26; for cranberries, $2.71; for stuffing mix, $2.72; and for rolls, $2.15 a dozen.

"Even though we have seen prices for food rise this year in the United States it is reassuring to know our food is still affordable,” said VFBF President Wayne F. Pryor. “Our farmers are honored to be able to raise this food we all enjoy at Thanksgiving.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports the farm portion of each consumer food dollar spent in the United States this year is about 22 cents. Using that percentage across the board, the farmer's share of the average Thanksgiving meal cost in Virginia would be $10.10.

Americans spend just 9.8 percent of their disposable income on food annually.