Texas Farm Bureau releases Turkey Day price watch

(WACO) – Texas grocery shoppers getting ready for a traditional Turkey Day feast will need a bit over three $10 bills to buy the fixings, according to the first ever Thanksgiving Day installment of the Texas Farm Bureau Grocery Price Watch.

The average price for the 16 basic items on the list, according to the informal survey of local grocery store prices, range in at $31.99.

“This being our first year to launch the Grocery Price Watch surveys, we have no comparison to offer on how this year’s prices might compare to those before,” said Kenneth Dierschke, president of the state’s largest farm organization. “These prices will, however, serve as benchmark for future Thanksgiving Day comparisons.”

Twenty-four volunteer shoppers from across the Lone Star State participated in the Thanksgiving Day Grocery Price Watch survey, all searching their local grocery stores for staple items of a Texasstyle Thanksgiving Day dinner.

The prices were based on purchases made during the week of Nov. 8-14.

Depending on where families did their shopping in Texas, prices were all over the board for these 16 basics, with price spreads ranging from $1 to nearly $6 depending on the items.

Ringing in highest on the price sale, on a per pound basis, were packages of shelled pecan halves, which average $5.35 in Texas. Shoppers paid as little as $2.29 in some places, while others forked over as much as $8 a pound.

Turkey and ham, on most budgets, will be the costliest purchases for Thanksgiving. Per pound averages came in at $1.10 for turkey and $1.67 for ham, though price spreads between the highest price paid in Texas and the lowest were significant—$1.77 for turkey and $2.27 for ham.

“Carry those numbers over for how much a whole turkey or ham will actually weigh, and you will be looking at some major cost differences,” Dierschke noted. “Still, the average Texas shopper is paying a lot less than shoppers in other parts of the country.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation since 1986 has conducted a national price analysis of several Thanksgiving Day items. Although their list differs somewhat from the Texas items, shoppers in other parts of the country will be paying $1.16 a pound for their turkey.

All of the items on AFBF’s list will cost $42.91, on average, this year, which represents a roughly $2 savings from last year’s numbers. The primary difference in the two surveys, Dierschke explained, is that many of the products on the Texas list include items produced by Texas farmers and ranchers.

Other Texas list items, along with their price averages, include: sweet potatoes, 86 cents per pound; cream of mushroom soup, $1.09 a can; French-fried onions, $2.08 per can; cranberry sauce, 96 cents per can; herb-seasoned cube stuffing, $2.30 a box; light brown sugar, $1.06 a bag; whipping cream, $1.31 per half-pint container; whole milk, $3.69 per gallon; large eggs, $1.50 per dozen; unsalted butter, $3.12 per fourstick package; brown and serve rolls, $2.31 per 12-pack; frozen green beans, $1.57 per one-pound bag; and frozen nine-inch pie shells, $2.08 per package.

“It is our sincere hope that as your family gathers around the Thanksgiving Day table, you remember the many men and women in this fine state who work each day to make sure we all enjoy an abundance of safe and delicious food for our families,” Dierschke said.