Thanksgiving meal in VA is $10 less than last year

RICHMOND—The average price for a 10-person Thanksgiving meal in Virginia is $81.07, down from a record-high $91.30 in 2023.

According to an informal survey conducted by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, the average cost to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 10 is $8.11 per person.

The survey’s menu consists of turkey, ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, rolls, carrots, celery, cranberries, green beans, peas, milk and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

This year’s statewide average decreased by $10.23—11% less than the 2023 average of $91.30 for a 10-person meal.

A dinner without ham, russet potatoes and green beans costs $58.41, or $5.84 per person. Last year’s meal without those three ingredients was $66.88, or $6.68 per person.

Prices reported by volunteer shoppers were collected between Oct. 21 and Nov. 7—before major retailers began offering holiday discounts, promotional sales or coupons.

This year, the average per-pound price for a whole frozen turkey during the data collection was $1.68, down from $2.18 in last year’s survey.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nov. 8 retail report indicated that the Southeast region’s average price for an 8- to 16-pound whole frozen turkey was $1.19 per pound, down from $1.28 per pound in the Nov. 1 report.

“Turkey is the centerpiece of a Thanksgiving meal and accounts for 33% of this year’s total price. Turkey prices have gone down significantly and that contributed to this year’s reasonable meal cost,” noted Elijah Griles, VFBF video content creator and producer of CattlePulse podcast. “And as it gets closer to the holidays, shoppers may find deals on frozen turkeys and other holiday foods, so the average cost of a Thanksgiving meal could actually be even less.”

This is the 21^st year Virginia Farm Bureau has conducted the survey, which is based on an annual survey organized by American Farm Bureau Federation. Volunteer shoppers checked prices online and in person at 50 grocery stores throughout the state—from the Northern Neck to the far Southwest.

The VFBF survey showed the average cost of a 16-pound turkey was $26.92, or $1.68 per pound. This represents a 23% decrease in price versus the 2023 average of $2.18 per pound.

The Farm Bureau survey discovered the average price for a 4-pound boneless ham was $17.56, while last year’s average price was $18.45.

As for the other ingredients for a traditional Thanksgiving meal, the survey showed that the average cost of a gallon of whole milk was $3.66; frozen peas, $1.70; frozen green beans, $1.80; three pounds of sweet potatoes, $3.56; a 5-pound bag of russet potatoes, $3.30; fresh celery, $1.72; fresh carrots, $1.32; two pie shells, $3.40; whipping cream, $3.41; canned pumpkin pie filling, $4.09; fresh cranberries, $2.09; stuffing mix, $3.13; and a dozen dinner rolls, $3.41.

Most items decreased in price versus 2023 values except for carrots, sweet potatoes and whole milk, which all cost more this year. A 3-pound bag of sweet potatoes was 50 cents higher than the same quantity last year.

According to Nov. 13 Consumer Price Index data, fruits and vegetables increased 0.4%, which could account for the higher carrot and sweet potato prices in this year’s Farm Bureau survey.

“But the big story is that CPI data shows energy commodities like transportation are down 12.4% year over year, which is likely a significant factor in this year’s lower Thanksgiving food costs,” Griles noted.

The locality with the highest cost for a traditional Thanksgiving meal was Essex County at $121.55. The locality with the lowest cost was Pittsylvania County at $57.29 for a 10-person meal.

While the average price of a 15-item Thanksgiving meal is lower than last year, inflation still continues to affect families across the country, including the nation’s farmers.

“Farmers are efficient and effective in how they provide food for our tables, even when there is a great deal of volatility and unpredictability in both production costs and marketing of agricultural products,” noted VFBF president Wayne F. Pryor.

Nationally, American Farm Bureau Federation’s survey found the average cost of its classic Thanksgiving meal for 10 was $58.08, a 5% decrease from 2023. The basic AFBF survey does not include ham, russet potatoes and green beans, which were added to the survey in 2018 to reflect more Thanksgiving favorites. With these items included in the AFBF findings, the national average cost for a traditional meal was $77.34—$3.73 less than the average cost of those items in Virginia.

Bernt Nelson, an AFBF economist, said that the decreased overall price for a meal is a “solid reflection of the overall economy.” He said inflation has slowed a little, but it’s not gone.

He also noted that even though turkey supplies were down this year because of avian influenza, demand also was down, which led to decreased turkey prices.

AFBF also reported that volunteer shoppers checked prices Nov. 1-7, before most grocery store chains began featuring whole frozen turkeys at sharply lower prices. Details about the AFBF survey findings are available at fb.org/newsroom.