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Thanksgiving Costs Up 11% This Year

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Anonymous

Guest
Funny how our guvment people keep telling us there is only 2% inflation--but when you actually go buying things you find its costing you 10-15- 20+% more... :???: Good thing this survey didn't figure in what it would cost to drive to Aunty Ems for dinner :shock:


T-dinner cost climbs 11%
By JIM GRANSBERY
Of The Gazette Staff

The average price of Thanksgiving dinner across the United States has jumped 11 percent over last year, according to an annual survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

But shoppers who pay attention to the specials in their local grocery stores can keep the price increase to a minimum.

Or, if a couple of dimes per pound more for the bird makes no difference, one can indulge and get a farm fresh turkey from a nearby Hutterite colony for a price no greater than the name-brand versions available in the meat case.

The annual feast day feast is being pressured in 2007 by the cost of energy and that is reflected in the 22nd annual AFBF informal survey. Menu items for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner will cost $42.26 this year compared to 2006's $38.10. The $4.16 increase is a 10.9 percent hike.

Nevertheless, "Americans are blessed to have an abundant variety of home-grown food that is produced with pride by our hardworking farmers and ranchers," said Dave McClure of Lewistown, who is president of the Montana Farm Bureau.

The Thanksgiving food basket used by the AFBF includes: a 16-pound turkey; cube stuffing, 14 oz.; pumpkin pie mix, 30 oz.; pie shells (2); sweet potatoes, 3 lbs.; dinner rolls, 12; green peas, 1 lb.; relish tray of carrots and celery, 1 lb.; whole milk, 1 gallon; fresh cranberries, 12 oz.; cream, half pint; and miscellaneous ingredients.

Nationally, the cost of a 16-pound turkey, at $17.63 or roughly $1.10 per pound, reflects an increase of 12 cents per pound, or a total of $1.93 per turkey compared to 2006. This is the largest contributor to the overall increase in the cost of the 2007 Thanksgiving dinner. In Montana, the price of a turkey was slightly higher at $1.29 per pound.

In Billings, turkey prices ran from 49 cents a pound on special with a $25 minimum purchase of other food items to $1.79 per pound. Selections at $1.39, $1.49, $1.69 were available.

Those who ordered a fresh turkey from a nearby Hutterite colony got the poultry for $1.69. A couple hundred extra turkeys not spoken for will be available today at $1.89 a pound in the parking lot of the former Gibson's.

Tim Wipf, the poultry manager at the Mountain View Colony founded four years ago near Broadview, supervised the slaughtering and processing of 3,000 birds this week. The three-day operation required a large crew to butcher, pluck (automatic machine), and wrap in a vacuum-sealed sack and kept in a large walk-in cooler on the farm. Deliveries began Friday.

The largest turkey weighed 38 pounds, Wipf said.

"The inventory of birds in cold storage is relatively small this year," said Jim Sartwelle, an economist with the AFBF. "This has helped drive up the average retail turkey price. The tremendous increase in energy costs for transportation and processing over the past year also is a key factor behind higher retail prices at the grocery store."

Other items showing a price increase this year included: a gallon of whole milk, $3.88; a 30-oz. can of pumpkin pie mix, $2.13; three pounds of sweet potatoes, $3.08; two 9-inch pie shells, $2.08; a 12-oz. package of brown-n-serve rolls, $1.89; a half-pint of whipping cream, $1.56; and a 12-oz. package of fresh cranberries, $2.20.

In Montana, a gallon of whole milk was priced at $3.85, two 9-inch pie shells were $1.50, fresh cranberries were only $1 and brown-n-serve rolls were $1.49.

Locally, cranberries were available at $1.29 and $1.99. A gallon of whole milk was $4.15 and the rolls $2.59 and $2.69.

Yams had a spread of 69 cents to 99 cents a pound, while sweet potatoes ranged from 99 cents a pound to $1.89.

A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter) increased in price by 66 cents to $3.29 in the national survey.

"All of the dairy products included in the survey increased significantly in price over the past year due to skyrocketing world demand," Sartwelle said.

According to Corinne Alexander, an agricultural economist at Purdue University, dairy products are up 15 percent from a year ago. Eggs are up by 45 percent.

"Energy prices increase the cost of manufacturing and transporting food," Alexander said in a report posted on AgWeb.com. "As a result, we are seeing food retailers passing on these higher energy costs to consumers."


Items that decreased slightly in price this year were a 14-ounce package of cube stuffing by $2.40, and a relish tray of carrots and celery by 66 cents. A pound of green peas remained the same in price at $1.46.

Sartwelle said on average, American consumers have enjoyed stable food costs over the years, particularly when adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted cost of a Thanksgiving dinner has remained around $20 for the past 17 years.

The Farm Bureau survey was first conducted in 1986. The real dollar cost of the Thanksgiving dinner has declined 9 percent in the last 20 years, according to Sartwelle. While the Farm Bureau does not make any statistical claims about the data, it is a gauge of price trends around the nation.

A total of 151 volunteer shoppers from 31 states, including Montana, participated in this year's survey. Farm Bureau's survey menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/11/19/news/local/20-dinner.txt
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
$42.26 wouldn't even pay for the beer in Kola's country!!!! :wink: :lol:

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Thanksgiving Dinner- If Norman Rockwell had been a Redneck
 
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