SPRINGFIELD — While the previous two COVID-affected Thanksgivings were like no other, it appears families will perhaps have to wait another year before the traditional holiday get-togethers return to some sense of normality. This year’s celebration will not be muted by a global coronavirus, but by a surge in food prices.
Indeed, inflation has wreaked havoc on US food prices, with a rise of 11.2 percent on all food costs registered this September compared to last year, and the cost of home groceries in particular soaring by 13 percent. For this reason, it appears many families will either forgo some of their usual traditional dishes, or cut back on how many people will be invited to this year’s festivities. That is, according to a comprehensive study by Usko, a new free app which let users analyze their Amazon spending, including seeing how much products they regularly buy have gone up due to inflation.
The company identified signature Thanksgiving dishes from each state, and then broke down the ingredients for each to determine how much more each dish will cost this year, compared to 2021.
For example, Illinois’ Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole (which requires canned sweet potatoes, ground nutmeg, pie shells, ground cinnamon), has seen an increase of 12.15 percent (the eighth highest increase of all Thanksgiving dishes). A Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole costs $26.91 this year, compared to $23.59 in 2021.
Missouri’s creamy mashed potatoes went from $19.62 last year and this year will be $21.85.
Broken down across the states, Washingtonians will suffer the largest increase of inflation when it comes to their signature dish: their spiced Thanksgiving sugar cookies, which use granulated sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, butter and eggs, had a whopping inflation rise of 13.56 percent, meaning it would cost locals an extra $2.02 more on average for the ingredients this year. Despite having to import around 85 percent of their food, Hawaii’s creamy garlic mash potatoes is the least affected signature dish by prices increases, resulting in an ‘only’ 7.45 percent rise.
Infographic showing each state’s signature Thanksgiving dish, and how it is affected by inflation: https://uskoprivacy.com/blog/thanksgiving-inflation
A survey of 1,000 respondents by Usko also revealed that over 1 in 5 (21 percent) believe the higher cost of ingredients would impact on their plans this year. Indeed, for those wondering how much they spend either in-store or on sites like Amazon, a quick comparison with last year’s bank statement will likely prompt them to make changes to this year’s celebratory meal. In fact, the same amount of respondents also said they would be prepared to cancel the traditional Thanksgiving menu, and opt for a cheaper and low-cost meal instead.
In addition, over a third of those hosting Thanksgiving this November plan to invite fewer guests, to save money, and of those who are cooking, 68 percent say they expect to have less leftovers available, given the high price of food.