Although turkey prices are lower, most Thanksgiving Day food costs are higher than last year
As Southern Californians head to grocery stores to stock up on all the items they'll need to prepare their typical Thanksgiving feasts next week, they'll likely have to reach deeper into their pockets as they reach the checkstand.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, many of the items you'll find on your shopping list are a lot more expensive than they were at this time last year.
The AFBF says whole milk prices are up 16.3%. Sweet potatoes are up 37%. And carrots and celery are up a whopping 61.3%.
However, the cost of the most important item for any traditional Thanksgiving meal, the turkey, is actually down about 16.3%.
But a marketing professor at the University of Southern California said that's because last year was an aberration.
"This time we don't have the same bird flu shortage that we had previously," said Dr. Lars Perner.
"Clearly there was a big impact of the supply chain, especially for turkey that is traditionally eaten by so many families."
But costs surrounding items not found on the dinner table, including gas prices and air travel, are also higher than they were this year.
Some shoppers told Eyewitness News that those costs are having an impact on who they plan to celebrate with on Thanksgiving Day.
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"Normally I fly the kids down from Oregon," said Bob Smith of Long Beach. "But it was just too expensive to do it this year, so we're just going to hang out."
Another resident said because of increased travel costs, they'll be celebrating with fewer people next week.
"Usually, we have about 12 family members that come to do Thanksgiving with us," said Laddie Nicks of Redondo Beach. "But this year we just cut it down to 4 people."
Experts said some will likely spend less on Thanksgiving this year, because of increased costs expected for Christmas.
"We know that toys are likely going to cost a great deal more this year because of tariffs," said Perner. "I also suspect a lot of people are quite reticent in spending, not necessarily because price increases have kicked in yet, but they're fearful and aren't sure what things are going to look like in the coming year."
