Inflation impacting cost of Thanksgiving dinner
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - It's the dinner most of us look forward to all year long.
"Got to have the mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, all of it," said South Park resident Kurt Dietz.
A plate overflowing with good food, surrounded by the people you love. But this year's Thanksgiving feast will cost you.
We didn't invite it, but inflation wants a seat at the Thanksgiving table.
"It certainly is the truth," said Beverly Pounds of Pounds Turkey Farm. "The expenses that we incur in terms of overhead are much higher from fuel to electricity to packaging costs."
Pounds runs the Leechburg family business Pounds Turkey Farm and says everything's more expensive this year.
"We are seventy cents a pound higher this year, so we never expected to see prices like this at all," said Pounds.
She tells KDKA's Meghan Schiller the bird flu wiped out a lot of other farms, so they're thankful for their three healthy and different-sized flocks.
"Most people tell us they're surprised it wasn't more," she said. "We've had people say they thought it would be $5 a pound, we're at $4.29."
A store-bought bird at Giant Eagle will cost a shopper about $2 a pound, totaling about $26. Throw in a bag of potatoes, fresh cranberries, green beans, milk, butter, flour, stuffing, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie and whipped topping and the total reaches $95.
"Anytime you can sit around, pig out, eat all day, watch football, it's a great day," said Dietz.
That's why Dietz says he'll splurge, but South Park resident Erica Danik waits for one thing.
"My husband's company that he works for, they actually give out a gift card every November, so we're very strategic," Danik said.
Some tips to keep in mind from the experts: shop early, compare prices between three stores, buy generic and shop your pantry first.
