Turkey and sides

Virginians will be able to feed their families a Thanksgiving meal for about $5.06 per person this year, which costs more than the national average, according to the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

A price survey of basic items found on the state’s Thanksgiving tables places the average cost of a traditional meal for 10 adults at $50.56. The menu includes turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, milk and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Prices were reported by volunteer shoppers using no promotional sales or coupons.

This year’s average represents an increase of $6.54 from the 2016 average price of $44.02 for a 10-person meal.

The locality reporting the highest average cost for a meal this year was Gloucester County at $64.35. The locality with the lowest average cost was Floyd County at $31.78.

The average cost of a 16-pound turkey in Virginia was $25.24, or a little more than $1.57 per pound. Virginia consumers paid an average of $1.15 per pound last year.

The average price for a gallon of milk was $3.12; for peas, $1.56; for a 3-pound bag of sweet potatoes, $2.62; for celery, $1.49; for carrots, $1.07; for pie shells, $2.46; for whipping cream, $1.87; for canned pumpkin pie filling, $3.20; for cranberries, $2.55; for stuffing mix, $2.86; and for rolls, $2.52 a dozen.

Since VFBF began conducting the survey in 2003, the average cost of a family’s Thanksgiving meal in Virginia has increased by $11.44.

Nationally, an informal survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation found the average cost of this year’s meal for 10 to be $49.12, or $4.91 per person. That represents a 75-cent decrease from last year’s national average of $49.67.