Turkey prices are lower this year, experts say
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Thanksgiving is next week, and families will be coming together to celebrate.
"I think maybe people are getting back to normal in terms of having big get-togethers post-pandemic," Josh Murphy, the director of supply chain strategy at Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, tells KDKA-TV's Mamie Bah.
Local farmers, like Pounds Turkey Farm, are also seeing high demand. "We are pretty much sold out at this point. We'll know our final numbers later this week," said manager Beverly Pounds.
The farm raised 3,000 turkeys and kept prices the same as last year: $4.29 a pound.
"Because there's no bird flu, I don't expect it to be higher than last year," Dr. Risa Kumazawa, an associate professor of economics at Duquesne University explained.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average price for an 8-16 pound turkey was $1.27 per pound in August 2023, 22% lower than the same time last year, which helped the food bank to purchase more turkeys, more than 5,000.
However, prices are still not where they were pre-pandemic.
"More and more people are responding to inflation by leaving to seek us out for help." Murphy continued. "And so Thanksgiving being the busiest time of year for us, we're seeing that compounded even further."