Thanksgiving meal prices saw increase in Wisconsin

The price of a Thanksgiving meal in 2021, is experiencing a 17.25 percent increase this year, according to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s annual Marketbasket survey. The Marketbasket survey is an informal look at the price of popular food items used to prepare a Thanksgiving meal, in quantities sufficient to serve 10 people.

This survey allows for Wisconsin food prices to be compared with food prices from across the country. Comparatively, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s survey of the same items showed a 14 percent increase over 2020 prices, nationally.

“It is no secret that the supply chain has been significantly disrupted in the past year, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s director of media relations and outreach Cassie Sonnentag. “Increased costs from processing to transportation, have led to increased food prices, particularly in protein products.”

Wisconsin’s Thanksgiving Marketbasket survey is an informal, annual review of food price trends, in relation to changing farm prices, weather, and wholesale and retail food marketing. Wisconsin Farm Bureau members collected price samples of 15 Thanksgiving food items in November.

Farm bureau volunteer shoppers were asked to look for the best prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals.

The centerpiece on most Thanksgiving tables – the turkey – is the driver of the meal’s price increase. Nationally, the price of turkey saw a 25 percent increase, per pound, from 2020 to 2021. In Wisconsin, that price saw a 40 percent jump.

In addition to inflation, the price increase can be credited to several causes, including disruption to the supply chain, increased at-home food consumption and demand prediction.

“Predicting demand has been a challenge this past year,” said Sonnentag. “Turkeys are grown under contracts that are signed well in advance, which drove this year’s production decrease.”