RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Thanksgiving is just two weeks away, and if you haven’t started thinking about your favorite dishes yet, now may be the time!
Some grocery store locations in the Triangle are already experiencing families prepping for the holiday early.
“It’s buzzing this year,” said Micki McCarthy with Raleigh’s Weaver Street Market. The store manager added, “There’s a big push as families congregate to, you know, get lots of fun, hearty meals and do all that planning for the big feast.”
McCarthy said the grocery co-op has noticed an early and larger number of families reserving complete holiday dinners compared to last year.
“Nothing is getting cheaper, unfortunately. Really, we’ve seen prices increase a little bit, but it hasn’t been extravagant,” said McCarthy. While some grocery items have remained higher in price, McCarthy said there has been some relief.
McCarthy said grocery stores are dealing with less supply chain issues. She said a bird flu outbreak last year created certain challenges and drove higher prices for things like eggs and turkeys.
McCarthy said, “All in all, it feels like a much more stable Thanksgiving than it has for a long time.”
According to a recent Wells Fargo consumer report, whole fresh turkeys will cost about $1.47. That’s about 9% less this year. However, you’ll want to watch out for certain side dishes that will cost even more including canned cranberries that are up 60%.
Last year, the American Farm Bureau Federation estimated a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people to cost about $64. This year, you’ll find places like Aldi, Walmart and Publix offering complete holiday dinners for less than $70 that serve 8-10 people.
“The holidays, obviously, can be a stressful time of year for a lot of people,” said Todd Phillips, a store manager for Lidl in Raleigh. Phillips said it’s one of the busiest times of the year for employees and the business hopes to do more to help families cut costs.
“We’re offering a $30 Thanksgiving meal that can feed can feed ten people. I think the national average for a meal is about $64. So we’re cutting it by more than half,” said Phillips.
Starting Nov. 15, Phillips said frozen turkeys will also be just .49 cents per lb., much less than the national average.
“Obviously, inflation has become an issue. Our customers are always looking for deals. And here, like I said, we’ve tried diligently throughout the year to bring in the savings that we can to the community,” Phillips said.
Some families said they have found other ways to cut costs.
“For us, it’s getting together with other family members, and we do a potluck, so it spreads out the expense. It works out pretty nicely,” said Jay Butlar, who shopped for groceries in Raleigh Thursday.
Employees said the best way to save is simply by cooking from scratch.
