The Cost Of A Thanksgiving Dinner Has Dropped Over The Last 100 Years
REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian
Each year, the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates the cost of Thanksgiving around the country based on feeding 10 people a meal with a 16-pound turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, carrots, celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee with milk.
The average costs has hovered around $49 since 2011, and results were based on 179 volunteer shoppers checking prices at grocery stores in 35 states.
But what would the same dinner have cost a century ago?
The Morris County Library in New Jersey researched the advertised prices of common Thanksgiving goods from November 18-22, 1911 in the NJ newspaper, The Daily Record. They discovered the cost of everything from sweet potatoes to plum pudding on the newspaper's old microfilm, and shared it with Business Insider.
Here's what a Thanksgiving dinner would have cost in 1911:
Turkey: $.28/pound ($4.48 for a 16-pounder)
Bread stuffing: $.05/pound
Sweet potatoes: $.29/6 quart basket
Rolls (bread): $.05/pound
Butter: $.37/pound
Peas: $.05/can
Cranberries: $.13/quart
Carrots: $.25/6 quart basket
Celery: n/a
Pumpkin pie: (milk, eggs, flour, sugar, pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon) ~$.84 to make (recipe)
Whipped cream: n/a
Coffee: $.25/pound
Milk: $.05/pint
Total cost: ~$6.81
Of course, these prices don't take inflation into account: That measly sounding $6.81 suddenly jumps to a staggering $167.77 when you consider inflation (calculated here for 2013 prices).
It's mostly due to the sheer size of the turkey since a 16-pounder in 1911 prices would cost roughly $110 today (this year, that same-sized turkey will cost Americans $21.65, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation).
See the full list of prices from New Jersey in 1911 over at the Morris County Library website, and be thankful that your turkey this year didn't cost over $100.
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- FSSAI in process of collecting pan-India samples of Nestle's Cerelac baby cereals: CEO
- 7 Nutritious and flavourful tiffin ideas to pack for school
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- A surprise visit: Tesla CEO Elon Musk heads to China after deferring India visit
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market