Cost Of Thanksgiving Dinner In PA Sharply Increases In 2022: Details

PENNSYLVANIA — The price of a Thanksgiving dinner is skyrocketing this year, along with just about everything else.

A classic Thanksgiving dinner for 10 has shot up 20 percent nationally, according to the Farm Bureau’s 37th annual survey, which looked at affordable prices for an array of basic individual items used for Thanksgiving meals.

In 2022, the survey found the dinner will cost Pennsylvania residents about $64.02. Nationally, the overall average dinner this year will cost $64.05, a $10.74 increase over last year’s average cost of $53.31.

Of course, those prices are miniscule compared to waht many residents in Pennsylvania and much of the country will actually spend this year. For instance, the Farm Bureau cites the average price of a 16-pound turkey as $28.96. At the Wegmans grocery stores in Malvern and King of Prussia, however, that price is $29.24 for a 17 pound turkey.

The cost increases are driven in large part by the price of Thanksgiving turkeys, about $1.81 a pound, up 21 percent from last year. At that price, a 16-pound bird will cost about $28.96.

In Pennsylvania, stores like Walmart, Aldi, Lidl, BJ’s Wholesale Club, or ShopRite, are among a handful of retailers rolling back Thanksgiving prices and offering other special deals.

According to the most recent USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data, the average per-pound feature price for whole frozen turkeys was $1.11 the week of Nov. 3-9 and 95 cents the week of Nov. 10-16, a decline of 14 percent in just one week; and the share of stores offering feature prices rose from 29 percent to 60 percent.

The higher turkey prices are also due to the highly contagious and deadly avian flu outbreak, first reported in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana, which is the worst the nation has seen since 2015. Aside from devastating populations, it's also driving already inflation-bloated prices for eggs and chickens even higher.

Millions of birds in Pennsylvania have been killed by the disease.

RELATED: PA Bird Flu: Officials Address Food Safety As Virus Rampages

Even if Pennsylvania shoppers can find a cheaper bird, they’re likely to pay higher prices for the rest of the meal. Overall inflation cooled to 7.7 percent in October, but food prices still remain about 12 percent higher than they were this time last year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report.

Besides turkey, the Farm Bureau looked at the cost of stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a vegetable tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers.

According to the Farm Bureau’s year-over-year Thanksgiving dinner comparison, Pennsylvania residents can expect to pay about $1.59 more for cubed stuffing, but 41 cents less for fresh cranberries.

Other than the cranberries, every other grocery item on the Farm Bureau list increased by a few cents to nearly a dollar. Here’s the breakdown on prices nationwide:

• 16-pound turkey: $28.96 or $1.81 per pound (up 21 percent)
• 14-ounce bag of cubed stuffing mix: $3.88 (up 69 percent)
• 2 frozen pie crusts: $3.68 (up 26 percent)
• Half pint of whipping cream: $2.24 (up 26 percent)
• 1 pound of frozen peas: $1.90 (up 23 percent)
• 1 dozen dinner rolls: $3.73 (up 22 percent)
• Misc. ingredients to prepare the meal: $4.13 (up 20 percent)
• 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix: $4.28 (up 18 percent)
• 1 gallon of whole milk: $3.84 (up 16 percent)
• 3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $3.96 (up 11 percent)
• 1-pound veggie tray (carrots & celery): 88 cents (up 8 percent)
• 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.57 (down 14 percent)

The Farm Bureau's national average cost was calculated using 224 surveys completed with pricing data from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The volunteer shoppers checked prices in person and online using grocery store apps and websites, searching for the best possible prices without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals.

The American Farm Bureau’s Thanksgiving dinner survey was first conducted in 1986. The menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.