A holiday meal with family and friends is a highlight for families across the country. But this year, that meal might be a little more expensive, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. AFBF senior economist Veronica Nigh said shoppers should expect to pay a little over $50 this year.

"This year, the average price that our shoppers found when they went to the grocery stores all across the United States was $53.31. That is a feast for 10, with plenty of room for leftovers," Nigh said. "It includes Thanksgiving staples like turkey, pumpkin pie, whipping cream, dinner rolls, cranberries, green beans, whole milk, frozen peas, a veggie tray consisting of carrots and celery, and miscellaneous ingredients to enjoy the meal."

Despite the 14 percent increase from the 2020 average of $46.90, Nigh said the price-per-person is still low.

"This is less than $6 per person, despite the fact that we saw a 14% increase in 2021 relative to 2020. That’s obviously a sizeable increase, and I think its important to break that down just a little bit," Nigh said. "The overall Thanksgiving market basket, about 45% of the cost is related to the cost of turkey. So when we take the turkey out, the average increase in the cost of all the other ingredients was about 6.6% relative to 2020."

Nigh points out that Farm Bureau shoppers checked prices between October 26 and November 8. That’s about two weeks before most grocery store chains began their turkey markdowns for Thanksgiving. However, that isn’t the only factor impacting the higher cost this year.

"Overall inflation in the U.S. economy, at over 6.2%, is certainly adding to the cost of all products in the U.S. economy, not just food products," Nigh said. "We’ve seen unprecedented changes in consumer behavior, in supply chains, in all facets of U.S. life. So one of those elements is that once the pandemic began we saw a significant shift in more consumers eating a larger share of their food at home, versus away from home. That has an impact on food prices."

More information on the details of the price increase can be found HERE.