You can thank Donald Trump for the spike in your Thanksgiving dinner bill this year.
Rising energy and transportation prices — which jumped following oil shortages due to the war on Iran — have helped push the cost of a typical turkey feast up by 10 per cent year over year.
“Diesel is double the price of what it was last year,” said Dalhousie University’s Sylvain Charlebois, whose Agri-Food Lab report studied Thanksgiving dinner pricing over the last three years. “It has impacted harvest this year and it is going to be impacting the entire supply chain.”
The price of a standard turkey dinner for four — potatoes, carrots, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, cranberries, stuffing, gravy — is expected to rise to nearly $36 from about $32 last year.
A similarly priced ham dinner is expected to rise about five per cent, according to the report. And for the wealthy noshing on lamb or lobster — $80 and $88 — the price spike is about three per cent this year, according to Dalhousie.
University of Toronto health studies Prof. Michael Widener says the Canada-U.S. trade war is also pushing up grocery costs — indirectly.
“It creates an environment of uncertainty,” Widener said, “and oftentimes companies will price in that uncertainty even if there’s not a real impact on the price of a particular food item.”
He also points to inflation as a “huge influence” on how people spend their grocery money and can drive people to cheaper, unhealthier options.
“Persistent compromises in diet and the stress of food insecurity are the things that we see linked to issues like chronic disease and poor mental health,” said Widener. “It’s not something that happens overnight, but it’s the sustained exposure.”
How to keep Thanksgiving dinner affordable
Budgeting experts, however, say there are ways to keep your costs down at this year’s feast.
Shopping flyer deals, redeeming loyalty points and buying from independent grocers can help consumers stay within budget, said Barry Choi, a Toronto-based personal finance expert.
“You really got to pay attention to those prices more than anything else,” said Choi. “It can add up.”
To stay on budget while keeping healthy food on the table, Widener recommends people opt for frozen and canned produce in place of fresh, and consider hosting a potluck dinner to share costs.
“It’s easier to have a really nice meal with people that you care about without having to break the bank.”
The key to year-round consumer savings lies in relying on local flyers, whether on paper or through apps, Choi said, adding these flyers won’t just show the best deals but can also be used for price-matching at competing grocers.
“It can be very convenient,” he said. “You don’t necessarily need to go to multiple grocery stores.”
Shopping at local grocers or butchers could also be a cost-cutting measure, Choi said, adding he sometimes opts to visit specialized, international shops that sell products cheaper than big-box grocery stores.
Though Thanksgiving costs have risen, Charlebois said it’s important to put things into perspective.
“It’s been cheaper before, but when you look at other countries around the world, prices tend to be much higher,” said Charlebois. “We need to remind ourselves that, yes, food inflation has been an issue the last several years, but our situation is not as bad as in other places around the world.”
