Thanksgiving Relief: Turkey Prices Drop in the U.S., but Costly Side Dishes Keep Inflation Concerns High

American shoppers enjoyed some relief on Thanksgiving turkey prices this year, even as the rising cost of traditional side dishes kept the debate over the country’s living expenses alive.

Thanks to steep discounts from major U.S. retailers, the price of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner fell for the third consecutive year. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual holiday meal survey, the average cost of the meal dropped 5% from 2024 to $55.18, the lowest since 2021. Retail prices for a 16-pound turkey were down 16.3% compared to last year.

Still, the overall cost of the meal remains about 13% higher than the Farm Bureau’s 2019 benchmark for its “classic meal”—a basket that includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, peas, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie and other staples. That comparison predates the inflation surge triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated stimulus measures.

The survey and accompanying analysis also highlight the ongoing pricing pressures within the food supply chain, revealing rising costs for producers and mounting tension between retailers fighting for market share and increasingly price-sensitive consumers.

Walmart, for instance, promoted a 2025 Thanksgiving meal basket priced at under $4 per person for a group of 10—down from about $7 last year. The retailer cut costs by using fresh ingredients for stuffing and featuring items from nine of its private-label brands. This year’s basket also included Butterball turkey, which is more expensive than the brand used in 2024.

Such consumer behavior reflects what Federal Reserve officials and retail analysts say has become a widespread shift: more families opting for store-brand goods or turning to discounters like Walmart for essentials.

“Wholesale prices for fresh turkeys have risen compared to 2024, but grocery stores are aggressively offering Thanksgiving deals and encouraging consumers to return to turkey,” the Farm Bureau said in a statement. Meanwhile, many traditional side dishes have grown more expensive as farms face a persistent shortage of labor and sharply rising wages.

The Farm Bureau has used the same Thanksgiving menu since 1986. This year, lower wheat prices made items like stuffing and dinner rolls cheaper, but nearly half of the foods in the meal basket became more expensive than in 2024. Frozen peas rose 17.2%, sweet potatoes surged 37%, and fresh vegetable trays climbed a staggering 61.3%.

Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said food prices remain “a real concern for many families,” pointing to the estimated loss of 15,000 family farms last year—driven by historically low crop prices, high input costs and persistent trade uncertainty.

The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement had a heavy impact on Hispanic communities, which traditionally supply much of the agricultural labor force. Trade disputes also strained the farm economy, with China cutting U.S. soybean purchases and imposing tariffs on several imported goods.

With Thanksgiving approaching, food prices have become a major political flashpoint in the United States, especially after the record-long government shutdown that disrupted air travel for weeks. Former President Trump campaigned on bringing prices down, though overall price declines are rare in the U.S. economy, and inflation has remained steady through his early months in office.

The Consumer Price Index—latest available due to the shutdown—showed inflation running at 3.0% annually in September, the highest since January. Many household food items posted their biggest increases in three years, with more than half the items in the index rising over 3%.

Amid intensifying pressure from families struggling with inflation, Trump last week rolled back steep tariffs on hundreds of imported foods, including beef, bananas and coffee. The move came after Republicans suffered losses in the first elections following his return to the White House in January.