INDIANAPOLIS— Grocery prices may be up overall, but as shoppers head out to plan their Thanksgiving meals, prices for holiday staples are trending downward.
Walmart is offering a Thanksgiving meal deal that includes 22 items — everything from green beans and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup to a Butterball turkey for just 97 cents a pound.
The full meal bundle is designed to feed a family of 10 for about $40, a price that’s 14 percent less than last year.
“Online you can touch one button, pull up to the store, and we have it all ready for you to go,” said John Frangello, the Walmart store manager in Greenwood.
According to a new report from the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, the overall cost of a Thanksgiving menu is decreasing by 2 to 3 percent this year, depending on the shopper’s strategy.
At Kroger, prices are also lower. “Our bundle last year was ten cents higher than this one, so we’re lower here and it’s even lower than it was two years ago,” said Eric Halvorson, a Kroger spokesperson.
The grocery chain is helping customers save by offering a Thanksgiving menu that highlights Kroger-branded products.
“It is sometimes stunning to see what the price can be from a name brand to a store brand,” the spokesperson added.
The price comes to $4.75 a person to feed 10 people.
Aldi is also joining the effort to make Thanksgiving affordable. Its 21-item meal bundle costs around $40 and feeds 10 people. Target, meanwhile, is offering a smaller deal for families of four—for under $20.
All stores working to keep the worry of grocery shopping away for at least this holiday.
“We’ve worked with our suppliers, and none of those items are increased due to inflation,” said Frangello “We have 7,000 rollbacks in the store, and half of them are on the food side.”
“If we can help keep the prices down and the memories there, and help support people have the holiday they’ve always wanted to have, that’s what we’re aiming for,” said Halvorson.
For additional savings, experts recommend checking store apps, where digital deals may offer more discounts than what’s found in stores.
Meijer is also offering holiday savings with turkeys at .49 cents a pound.
