A traditional, Texas-style Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost $48.01 this year, down 48 cents, according to the special Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Thanksgiving Meal Report. The survey records the cost of 10 holiday staples—including turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pecan pie. “Preparing large holiday meals can be expensive,” TFB President Russell Boening said. “But this year, Texans can budget a little less for the traditional Thanksgiving meal.” The featured food on most Thanksgiving tables—the turkey—cost slightly less than last year, ringing up at $19.36 for a 16-pound bird. That’s about $1.21 per pound. The shopping list for TFB’s informal survey includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, jellied cranberry sauce, rolls, frozen green beans, pie shells, shelled and halved pecans, whipping cream and whole milk. Food showing the largest decreases this year, in addition to the turkey, were frozen green beans, $1.42 per package, and pecans, $9.79 per 16 oz. package. Several items saw modest increases, including jellied cranberry sauce, $1.56; stuffing, $2.66; whipping cream, $1.63; whole milk, $3.07; frozen pie shells, $2.55, fresh sweet potatoes, $3.66; and brown and serve rolls, $2.31. New this year, to capture the diversity of Thanksgiving meals across the Lone Star State, TFB also recorded prices on a 10-lb bone-in ham, eggs, onion, celery, pumpkin pie mix and a cornbread mix packet. Adding these foods to the Thanksgiving menu increases the overall cost to $75.28. Nationwide, Thanksgiving prices are also stable, increasing only one cent, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s informal food prices survey. TFB’s Thanksgiving Meal Report prices were reported by 38 volunteer shoppers at grocery stores statewide from Nov. 1-8. Shoppers did not take advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals. TFB has released its informal Thanksgiving Meal Report survey since 2009.
