America up for cheapest Thanksgiving this year. Know why

Turkey, the gem of the feast, will also be cheaper by seven per cent in comparison to its cost last year with an average cost of $19.39 for a 16-pound Turkey.

Medical experts in the US had urged to cancel the Thanksgiving festivities in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it turns out that instead of junking the feast altogether, people are opting for a cheaper version which, in fact, will be the cheapest in a decade.

People line up to receive free holiday boxes of food from the Food Bank For New York City ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. (Reuters file photo)

As per the annual survey of the American Farm Bureau Foundation(AFBF), the mean cost of a 10-person Thanksgiving meal is projected to be 4 per cent cheaper as compared to last year, while it will be the cheapest since 2010 costing just $46.90.

Turkey, the gem of the feast, will also be cheaper by seven per cent in comparison to its cost last year with an average cost of $19.39 for a 16-pound Turkey.

The grocers are slashing prices including that of the centrepiece of the dinner to entice shoppers, as there will be less of a celebration this year due to the virus that has killed more than 250,00 Americans this year. The US has reported more than 2,000 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.

“Pricing whole turkeys as ‘loss leaders’ to entice shoppers and move product is a strategy we’re seeing retailers use that’s increasingly common the closer we get to the holiday,” said John Newton, chief economist for the AFBF cited Bloomberg.

In a Covid-19-ridden America where there is a huge paucity of essential supplies like that of toilet papers due to bulk hoarding by people, turkeys in grocery stores are abundant and available.