BRADLEY HOPPENSTEIN: TIS THE SEASON…FOR HIGHER PRICES. THANKSGIVING IS TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY BUT WITH INFLATION UP OVER SEVEN PERCENT FROM A YEAR AGO – THAT THANKSGIVING DINNER IS GOING TO COST YOU A LOT MORE…ABOUT 13 PERCENT MORE. KEVIN PETRTIE IS THE DIRECTOR OF FOOD OPERATIONS AT GREEN HILLS FARMS. HE SAYS CUSTOMERS HAVE ADJUSTED TO HIGHER PRICES ACROSS THE BOARD…BUT THOSE HOLIDAY ITEMS ARE THE ONES THAT WILL PUT A DENT IN YOUR WALLET.
KEVIN PETRIE: A LOT OF THOSE EVERYDAY ITEMS THERE’S SOME FLUCTUATION, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO HOLIDAY ITEMS THERE’S ABOUT AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 30 PERCENT IN COST OVER LAST YEAR.
HOPPENSTEIN: WITH PRICES UP ACROSS THE BOARD, THANKSGIVING FOODS ARE NO EXCEPTION. PRETTY MUCH EVERY STAPLE ITEM WILL COST YOU MORE THAN LAST YEAR, INCLUDING THIS TURKEY WHICH IS UP 23 PERCENT. THAT MAKES CUSTOMERS LIKE ERIN INMAN SHOP AROUND JUST TO FIND THE LOWEST PRICES.
ERIN INMAN: WE’RE LIKE HITTING ALL THE STORES AROUND THE AREA TO SEE WHAT’S CHEAPER FOR EVERYTHING REALLY
HOPPENSTEIN: BUT EVEN WITH GROCERY STORES DOING THEIR BEST TO OFFSET THE COSTS…
PETRIE: YOU KNOW, LET’S SAY AN ITEM WENT UP 20 PERCENT. IT MIGHT NOT SOUND LIKE A LOT BUT WE MIGHT RAISE IT 15 PERCENT OR SO JUST TO TRY TO GET TO A PRICE POINT THAT IS PALETTABLE.
HOPPENSTEIN: THERE’S NO AVOIDING THE YEAR TO YEAR PRICE HIKE…
INMAN: I JUST TOLD MY MOM IN THE OTHER STORE…I WAS LIKE HOW DO THEY EXPECT US TO LIVE? YOU KNOW…I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER IT CAN REALLY GO ON.
HOPPENSTEIN: IN SYRACUSE…BRADLEY HOPPENSTEIN…N-C-CNEWS
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – With inflation bringing prices up across the board, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner is set to cost more this year. Research firm IRI predicts that your Thanksgiving meal will cost about 13.5% more than last year, based on how retail prices in the four weeks through Oct. 16 compared to the same period in 2021.
Kevin Petrie, Director of Operations at Green Hills Farms, told NCC News customers are getting used to the higher prices, but the year over year spike is even larger for holiday items.
“With a lot of those everyday items, there’s some fluctuation, but when it comes to holiday items there’s an increase of about 30 percent in cost over last year,” Petrie said.
U.S. inflation is currently up 7.7% from this time last year, with prices expected to continue to rise.
Erin Inman, a customer at Green Hills Farms, said she’s working two jobs to make up for recent price hikes. Today, she was going around to several grocery stores with her mother just to find the cheapest prices for their Thanksgiving dinner.
“I just told my mom in the other store. I was like ‘how do they expect us to live?’ You know, I don’t know how much longer it can really go on,” Inman said.
