And you guessed it; prices went up.
The price tag on a meal for a family of eight will cost $42.37 this year. The 2007 cost was $39.66 for 14 items. The grocery cart was comprised of: 16-pound self-basting turkey; 14-ounce package of herb-seasoned, cubed stuffing; 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix; a package of two, nine-inch, frozen pie shells, a three-pound bag of sweet potatoes; a five-pound bag of potatoes; 12-ounce package of brown-and-serve rolls; one-pound package of frozen peas; a half-pound each of fresh carrots, celery, and onions; 12-ounce package of fresh cranberries; one gallon of whole milk; and a one-half pint of whipping cream.
The Capital Times has more:
Potatoes had the biggest price jump from last year, up 32 percent from $2.19 a 5-pound bag in 2007 to $2.90 this year.
The Farm Bureau said fewer acres of potatoes were planted this year and poor weather early in the year contributed to a smaller crop and the resulting higher prices.
Dairy prices and global demand shot up in 2007 but subsided in 2008, so the cost of a gallon of milk in this market basket survey was up only four cents to $3.39 a gallon from the 2007 survey. Last year, the price of milk was 66 cents higher than the year before.
Sweet potatoes were down 15 cents for a 3-pound bag, dropping to $1.11 a bag from $1.26 in 2007.
The study, which has been going for 17 years, also found that the price had risen 60% since it's inception. The original price of the meal in 1991? $26.50.
Don't let all of this talk of higher prices ruin your Holiday feast. The Ventura County Star reminds us that a meal for eight totaling around $45.00 is still cheaper than calling for take-out:
The total tab is cheaper than most people might spend taking a group out for a pizza dinner, said Jim Sartwelle, a federation livestock economist.
"It kind of highlights how you can stretch your food dollar by picking bulk, nonprocessed food items," he said. "Thanksgiving is that one day of the year that most of us feel like we don't really mind being in the kitchen."
If one wanted to sidestep the grocery stores and get their own bird, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced on Friday that they still have lots of turkey tags available. An Oregon resident can expect to pay $18.00 for their turkey hunting tag. You can read more about wild turkey hunting at KPIC.com, or via this brochure (PDF file) from the ODFW.
Don't want turkey at all? Dining@Large has a top ten list of turkey alternatives. Here are the top five:
If you do decide to cook a turkey, make sure you have the Butterball Turkey Hotline number ready (1-800-Butterball). Lots of people laugh at the idea of needing to call for help, but Snopes.com reports that "incidents" do happen:* Wild duck with sauerkraut
* Goose with fruit stuffing. Unfortunately the one time I cooked a wild goose (a hunter friend had brought it to my in-laws), it also contained buckshot.
* Native American foods like beans, squash and corn for vegetarians and vegans
* Turducken (partially boned turkey stuffed with boned chicken stuffed with boned duck)
* Small roast chicken with cornbread-pecan stuffing for a couple or people eating alone
One of the more unusual questions handled by Butterball's Turkey Talk-Line (which the company has operated since 1981) comes from those who have mistaken a well-traveled joke for an actual recipe: They call to ask if they can pop popcorn in the turkey's cavity during the roasting process. (The joke's punch line is: "You know the turkey is done when the popcorn pops and blows the rear off the bird.") And no, you can't.For the official word on how to cook a turkey, look to the USDA. They have an extensive guide on how not to sicken your dinner guests.
And finally, Simply Recipes will tell you exactly what to do with all of those leftovers!
happy, delicious Thanksgiving Holiday!
