Some notable holiday favorites severely impacted by food inflation include russet potatoes, canned pumpkins and canned cranberries, whose prices are up 14 percent, 30 percent and 60 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year. (Related: U.S. roads and airports BRACE for major Thanksgiving travel chaos as severe weather causes traffic and flight delays.)
"We're definitely more conscious about what we purchase," said one Thanksgiving shopper interviewed by CBS News about their shopping habits.
Another shopper told the network that the cost of feeding their family has become "super expensive" this year and said that they had to split the cost of Thanksgiving dinner with other family members to help ease the burden.
Other grocery items are still a lot more expensive than they were last year. Overall grocery prices have risen by 2.1 percent in the last 12 months, following an increase of 12.4 percent in 2022.
"That's the cost of living," said Angeline Murray, a shopper in Washington, D.C. interviewed by NPR a few days before Thanksgiving. "Nothing we can do until prices come done. We're just going to have to deal."
Murray's attitude toward higher prices is surprisingly common. Some shoppers have noted that they are cutting corners by opting for cheaper Thanksgiving products, while others note that now is not the time to hunt for bargains but to count blessings.
Other food items only slightly less expensive than they were last year
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), inflation-weary Americans may be able to experience some relief, as the overall price of a Thanksgiving dinner is down by an average of 4.5 percent from last year. This comes after Thanksgiving food prices in 2022 reached record highs.
The average cost of a Thanksgiving meal at home for 10 persons this year is $61.17, compared to $64.05 last year. However, prices are still at historic highs compared to 2019, when the average price of a regular Thanksgiving meal for 10 was just $48.91.
A 16-pound frozen whole turkey accounted for 45 percent of the price of Thanksgiving dinner this year, costing on average $27.35. A similar turkey last year cost $28.96 and accounted for a similar share of the overall cost of a Thanksgiving meal. The slightly lower cost has been attributed to a drop in avian influenza cases and a recovering turkey population in the United States.
"While inflation is not as extreme as last year, it is still present and grocery prices have still been somewhat variable," said Bernt Nelson, an economist for the AFBF who noted how surging labor and food production costs have contributed to rising prices.
Despite this clear fact that things are still a lot more expensive than before he took control of the White House, Biden still took the opportunity to claim that things are cheaper under his administration.
"Folks, no matter where you're headed this holiday season, you'll be heading there for less," he wrote. "Gas prices are down $1.70 from their peak, airfares are down 13 percent and car rental prices are down about 10 percent. And we're not done taking action to get those prices down even more."
Learn more about increasing food prices at FoodInflation.news.
Watch this clip from Newsmax as anchor Carl Higbie discusses how Bidenomics has ruined Thanksgiving.
This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.
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