The Indiana Farm Bureau’s 2024 annual Thanksgiving market basket survey shows Hoosiers gathering around the table for Thanksgiving dinner will find a slight relief when it comes to purchasing ingredients, but will still see historically high costs.
Shoppers can expect to spend approximately 2% less at the grocery store compared to 2023. According to this year’s pricing survey, Hoosiers are paying an average of $53.31 for a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people, or $5.33 per person. Indiana’s market basket price also is approximately 8% lower, 48 cents less, than the U.S. average price of $58.08, or $5.81 per person.
The cost is still 25% higher than it was five years ago, which highlights the impact inflation has had on food prices since the pandemic. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is on par with the track of cumulative inflation for food at home, which has increased by 26%.
A main driver of the decrease in Indiana is the lower cost of the turkey, which is also less than the national average this year. Shoppers can expect to pay approximately $1.33 per pound for a whole turkey, or $21.22 for a 16-pound bird, which is about 17% less expensive than the national average of $25.67.
Another item that is less expensive this year is pumpkin pie filling. The cost for a 14-ounce package comes to $3.78, which is approximately 22% less than last year in Indiana. Pumpkin pie filling in Indiana is also about 9% less expensive than the 2024 U.S. average. This can be attributed to Indiana’s proximity to pumpkin production, ranking second in pumpkin production in the country, according to USDA’s Census of Agriculture.
Half of the items in the market basket are less expensive for Hoosiers compared to last year, most notably pie shells and sweet potatoes. There are a few items that increased in price, with the largest percentage price increase being for cranberries and whipping cream.
Only sweet potatoes, cranberries, and the veggie tray are more expensive in Indiana this year than they are nationally, with sweet potatoes about 18% more than the U.S. average, possibly a result from sweet potato production in the southern and western regions.
According to the USDA, just 15.9 cents of every retail food dollar can be attributed to farm production, after accounting for input costs. Using this figure, the farmer’s share of this $53.31 market basket would be less than $8.50 The rest is for food processing, packaging, transportation, wholesale and retail distribution, and food service preparation.
The total market basket price of $53.31 includes a 16-pound turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, a carrot and celery veggie tray, whole milk, cranberries, whipping cream, ingredients for pumpkin pie, and miscellaneous baking items.
The INFB Thanksgiving market basket survey is conducted annually in early November by volunteer shoppers across the state who collect prices on specific food items from one of their local grocery stores. Volunteer shoppers were asked to look for the best possible prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals.
Indiana’s survey is completed in conjunction with a national survey administered by the American Farm Bureau Federation. More details about AFBF’s national Thanksgiving market basket results can be found at fb.org/news-release/cost-of-thanksgiving-dinner-declines-remains-higher-than-pre-pandemic-levels.
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