How Much Your Thanksgiving Feast Will Cost You in New Jersey?

There’s good news and bad news. Let’s start with the good news. Your Thanksgiving dinner will cost you 4.5 percent less this year compared to last year. That’s great to hear, but now the bad news. You’re paying 25-percent more than you did 4 years ago.

No surprise here, everything at the supermarket is still so expensive!

Dinner for 10 people will cost you $61.17 or less than $6.20 per person, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey.

For the past 37 years, they’ve added up the cost of the same foods you traditionally have on Thanksgiving, including turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, veggie tray, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

So why are we spending less this year? There’s been a decrease in the cost of turkey. According to the report, we’re paying about $27.35 for a 16-pound turkey, which is around 5.6 percent less than last year.

American Farm Bureau Federation Senior Economist Veronica Nigh says, “Turkey prices have fallen thanks to a sharp reduction in cases of avian influenza, which have allowed production to increase in time for the holiday.”

There are some differences in the overall cost depending on where you live. Here in the Northeast, we’re paying a little bit more for our Thanksgiving feast. If you live in the Midwest the cost is lower.

There are supermarkets in New Jersey that have free turkey promos. At my local Shoprite, if you’re a price plus member and spend a certain amount of money over a certain amount of days you get a free turkey. That helps cut down on the cost!