Costs rise for Thanksgiving dinner

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The average price of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner rose slightly in 2012, according to a report released by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

A “Classic Thanksgiving Dinner,” including turkey, store-bought dressing, yams and other items would cost $49.48 on average this year, according to the Farm Bureau’s annual price survey. That’s 28 cents higher than the average cost in 2011.

“If you look across the basket, there were a few items higher and a few items up and a few items down,” said John Anderson, AFBF’s chief economist. “The one that probably moved the most was the turkey … Turkey price was up about 3 percent over last year.”

Despite those increases in cost, Anderson said the increases in cost were small compared with other price increases around the economy.

“The cost of the dinner has actually increased about half of a percent,” Anderson said. “That’s actually a little less than the overall rate of inflation.”

News 10 visited one local grocery store, and managed to buy all the items listed in the AFBF’s “classic dinner” for $49.08.