Thanksgiving turkey dinner could cost you more this year, according to a recent study.
Inflation has wreaked havoc on US food prices, with a rise of 11.2% on all food costs registered this September compared to last year, and the cost of home groceries in particular soaring by 13%. For this reason, it appears many families will either forgo some of their usual traditional dishes, or cut back on how many people will be invited to this year’s festivities. That is, according to a comprehensive study by Usko, a new free app which let users analyze their Amazon spending, including seeing how much products they regularly buy have gone up due to inflation.
The company identified signature Thanksgiving dishes from each state, and then broke down the ingredients for each to determine how much more each dish will cost this year, compared to 2021.
For example, Pennsylvania’s Spicy Candied Sweet Potatoes, (which requires canned sweet potatoes, pecans, pumpkin pie spice, mini marshmallows, orange juice concentrate) has seen an increase of 10.49% (the 25th highest increase of all Thanksgiving dishes). A Spicy Candied Sweet Potatoes costs $30.97 this year, compared to $27.72 in 2021.
Broken down across the states, Washingtonians will suffer the largest increase of inflation when it comes to their signature dish: their spiced Thanksgiving sugar cookies, which use granulated sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, butter and eggs, had a whopping inflation rise of 13.56%, meaning it would cost locals an extra $2.02 more on average for the ingredients this year. Despite having to import around 85% of their food, Hawaii’s creamy garlic mash potatoes is the least affected signature dish by prices increases, resulting in an ‘only’ 7.45% rise.
A survey of 1,000 respondents by Usko also revealed that over 1 in 5 (21%) believe the higher cost of ingredients would impact on their plans this year. Indeed, for those wondering how much they spend either in-store or on sites like Amazon, a quick comparison with last year’s bank statement will likely prompt them to make changes to this year’s celebratory meal. In fact, the same amount of respondents also said they would be prepared to cancel the traditional Thanksgiving menu, and opt for a cheaper and low-cost meal instead.
In addition, over a third of those hosting Thanksgiving this November plan to invite fewer guests, to save money, and of those who are cooking, 68% say they expect to have less leftovers available, given the high price of food.
