Thanksgiving is just two weeks away, and concerns for food prices are rising.
Supply chain issues have persisted, which means your Thanksgiving meal could cost more, and look a bit different, this year.
Top Turkey seller Butterball said it doesn’t expect an overall turkey shortage, but that those who are in search of a smaller size bird could have a hard time. Why? Butterball CEO Jay Jandrain attributed it to labor shortages. He said that without as many people in the facilities to process their turkeys, Butterball birds were at the farms longer than they normally would have been, growing larger.
He told “Good Morning America” on Friday that a 10 to 14 pound bird is going to be harder to find. “Anything over 16 pounds — they’ll certainly be more readily available,” Jandrain said.
According to a Wells Fargo report, the cost of turkeys has nearly doubled since 2019, primarily due to an increase in demand, supply chain issues and labor shortages. The overall price of food has risen 5.4% from September 2020 to September 2021, according to the consumer price index.
That said, it’s not just turkeys. Most holiday food items will cost more.
In early November, Ocean Spray CEO Tom Hayes noted that the company costs have risen amid a “tough environment” and said some of it has been passed on to customers. The company, who produces cranberry juice, dried cranberries and the Thanksgiving staple cranberry sauce, said that it is “committed to meeting customer demand” but has “experienced a variety of supply chain challenges,” like aluminum can shortages, transportation and other factors.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some supermarkets began placing holiday orders in February to meet November demand.
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