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John Catsimatidis is the CEO of Gristedes Foods, a supermarket chain based in New York City. He has holiday-related advice for consumers: Cherish your Thanksgiving turkey this year, because it’s going to put a bigger dent in your bank account than ever.
In a appearance on Fox’s Varney & co., Catsimatidis told host Stuart Varney that grocery stores will see “the highest prices ever for turkeys, the highest prices ever for your Thanksgiving dinner.” There’s a concrete reason why turkey prices are likely to rise by 23%, according to Wells Fargo:
The star of the Thanksgiving meal, and one of its biggest expense items, is expected to be 23% higher in price in the fourth quarter than last year. Turkey’s supply will also be more limited this year due to the lingering effects of highly pathogenic bird flu. Prices in Turkey rose after avian flu wiped out flocks earlier this year.
Although Wells Fargo notes that there will still be plenty of turkeys available, the price per pound will still be relatively high.
Turkey isn’t the only Thanksgiving mainstay taking a bigger bite out of shoppers’ pockets, Fox Business reports. The same bird flu outbreak has sent egg prices up more than 32%, and butter and flour have also risen. In addition, the Wells Fargo report indicates that cranberries are more expensive this year and suggests that old-fashioned canned cranberries may be the best option.
A trip across the river and through the woods to your grandmother’s house will also cost you in 2022. Gasbuddy published a report Tuesday said the national average price for gas on Thanksgiving Day “will be $3.68 on Thanksgiving Day — nearly 30¢ higher than last year and more than 20¢ higher than the previous all-time high of $3.44 in 2012.” Still, Gasbuddy says, “20% more Americans [are] planning to hit the road this year.”
Wells Fargo suggests that the solution to reducing Thanksgiving costs is to find a restaurant that serves holiday meals. According to the report’s authors, Courtney Buerger Schmidt, Brad Rubin, and Michael Swanson, Ph.D., eating out “may be more beneficial this year than one would expect.” Why? “The price of a restaurant meal includes factors such as overhead and labor, but basic ingredients make up a smaller percentage of a restaurant’s total cost.”
Consumers looking to cut costs may want to consider shopping at stores like Aldi’s and Walmart — chains that have lowered prices to offset inflation by matching Thanksgiving-related spending from previous years.