According to the American Farm Bureau, the cost of the holiday meal has been on the rise for years. But with inflation, this year it's up even more -- a full 20% higher than in 2021.
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The bureau says this year the national average cost of a Thanksgiving meal for 10 people is $64.05 compared to $53.31 last year.
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This year's average for those living on the West Coast is $71.37.
But does that reflect the reality in the Bay Area? We hit a grocery store to find out.
Location: Safeway in San Rafael, Calif.
Grocery list: From the American Farm Bureau. Includes 11 standard Thanksgiving items.
Our first stop was for a turkey. The farm bureau says the average cost for a 16-pound bird is $29.96. At the Safeway, it was much higher -- pricing out at $47.84.
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Same with a gallon of milk. They say the average is $3.84. Here it was $5.99.
But not everything was more expensive.
The farm bureau says 12 dinner rolls costs on average $3.73. We found Hawaiian dinner rolls for $3.50.
Other things that cost less than the average were sweet potatoes and a box of stuffing.
The things that cost more were fresh celery and carrots, frozen green peas, cranberries, heavy whipping cream, pie shells and pumpkin pie mix.
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At that point we had checked everything off the list. But don't forget, it didn't include things like butter and other dinner essentials (what's Thanksgiving dinner without some wine?)
Vino aside, we added up our costs.
Our total: $88.55.
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That's about $25 more than the national average for a Thanksgiving meal and about $17 more than the West Coast average.
But for most of us, that won't come as any surprise. 'Tis the reality of living in the Bay Area.
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