Talkin' turkey

Shoppers who bought all of their ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner between Nov. 11-18 would have saved money shopping in Hermiston. But no matter where you shopped, it seems Thanksgiving dinner this year is a little less costly than last year.

Nationwide, prices for Thanksgiving dinner items have dropped 4 percent this year, the American Farm Bureau Federation has reported.

The East Oregonian conducted a market basket survey that week in nine regional stores, three in Pendleton, three in Hermiston and one each in Umatilla, Boardman and Heppner. The EO used the farm bureau’s shopping list, which includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10.

The area prices for 12 common menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner ranged from $43.97 at Heppner Family Foods to $24.43 at Fiesta Foods in Hermiston.

It’s not uncommon, of course, for stores in smaller communities to have higher prices because of lower volume and higher transportation costs.

Several stores offered a Thanksgiving dinner package that week, featuring a turkey and other menu items for less than $20.

Boardman Select Market had a different special: Buy a 4-pound Black Forest ham, get a 12- to 14-pound Norbest turkey free.

Albertsons, too, had a tremendous special for those with a store card. Frozen turkeys were $1.29 per pound, or 27 cents per pound for spending $25 or more in the store.

Robert Blair, the store’s service operations manager, said if the total bill came to more than $25, the cash register automatically would cut the turkey’s price to 27 cents per pound. For Albertson’s shoppers that would have cut a $40.75 grocery bill to equal the lowest prices at Fiesta Foods.

Safeway stores, too, have their club card prices, which save regular shoppers money.

Pendleton shoppers stopped at random Friday had different opinions about the cost of fixing Thanksgiving dinner this year.

“Of course it’s going to cost more. It’s cost more every year,” said Mickey Madison of Echo. “But that’s not the problem, it’s getting it all cooked.”

Robin Holbrook of Pendleton, who also was shopping at Safeway, agreed.

“Everything costs more,” she said.

But Sheena Motley of Pendleton, shopping at Walmart, said considering the economy, Thanksgiving dinner probably would cost less this year.

“Thanksgiving’s more about family than about food,” she said.

The farm bureau’s 24th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $42.91, a $1.70 price decrease from last year’s average of $44.61.

The nationwide average cost of a 16-pound turkey, at $18.65 or roughly $1.16 per pound, reflects a decrease of 3 cents per pound, or a total of 44 cents per turkey compared to 2008.

Milk, at $2.86 per gallon, dropped 92 cents and was the largest contributor to the overall decrease in the cost of the 2009 Thanksgiving dinner.

“Consumers are benefiting at the grocery store from significantly lower energy prices and the effects of the economic slowdown,” said Jim Sartwelle, a bureau economist. “Again this year, the cost per person for this special meal is less than a typical ‘value meal’ at a fast-food outlet.”

Other items showing a price decrease this year were: a half pint of whipping cream, $1.55; a dozen brown-n-serve rolls, $2.08; a 1-pound relish tray of carrots and celery, 72 cents; and a 12-oz. package of fresh cranberries, $2.41.

Items that increased slightly (less than 5 percent) in price this year were: a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.65; two 9-inch pie shells, $2.34; and a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $2.45.

EO shoppers had difficulty finding 14-ounce bags of stuffing, so we took the price per ounce of the most common product in the stores and calculated the price for 14 ounces. Canned pumpkin was in 29-ounce cans in some stores and 30-ounce cans in others. We priced one can. Our staff also found celery priced by the bunch and by the pound, so we used the posted price.

Two items, green peas at $1.58 for one pound and sweet potatoes at $3.12 for three pounds, stayed the same in price, the farm bureau reported.

Sartwelle said despite retail price increases during the last year or so, American consumers have enjoyed relatively stable food costs over the years, particularly when adjusted for inflation.