California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner -- turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin
pie and all the basic trimmings – will cost Americans a bit more than they
paid last year, according to figures compiled by the American Farm Bureau
Federation.

The average, nationwide, price has increased about 1.3 percent in price this
year, according to the numbers added up by the AFBF, which has been figuring
the dinners’ costs for 25 years. The average cost of this year’s feast for 10
is $43.47, a 56-cent price increase from last year’s average of $42.91.

This year’s meal is actually $1.14 cheaper than what shoppers paid two years ago,
when the total was $44.61. The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread
stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of
carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and
milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10. The big ticket item –
a 16-pound turkey – is actually cheaper this year, at $17.66. That is roughly
$1.10 per pound, a decrease of about 6 cents per pound, or a total of 99 cents
per whole turkey, compared to 2009. While the whole bird was the biggest contributor
to the final total, it was also the largest price decline compared to last year.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.