Trump is Devouring Americans’ Thanksgiving Budgets, New Report Reveals Prices Up 10%

Trump is Devouring Americans’ Thanksgiving Budgets, New Report Reveals Prices Up 10%

As families across the country prepare to carve turkeys and watch football, new analysis from Groundwork Collaborative, The Century Foundation, and AFT finds President Trump’s economic policies are driving up prices for this year’s Thanksgiving feast. The full holiday meal is up nearly 10% this year, more than triple the overall rate of inflation, with some staples set to run families as much as nearly 60% more than last year’s prices. Families hoping to make macaroni and cheese this year will spend 14% more this year on De Cecco pasta and Sargento shredded cheese. The sweetest things on the table are much more sour this year with prices for Ocean Spray cranberry sauce up over 22% while pie crust and pecans have risen 13% and 11%, respectively, over the past year.

These price hikes come on top of a mounting affordability crisis that the president continues to stoke, and Americans are feeling the squeeze. New Data for Progress polling shows that a majority of Americans (53%) believe that Thanksgiving will be harder to afford this year than last. Sixty-five percent of people say they are stressed about Thanksgiving prices, as 37% say they plan to buy fewer items and one in four are planning smaller gatherings to afford the holiday. Another 14% say they will forgo typical travel and more than one in ten say they will skip the holiday entirely.

Executive Director of Groundwork Collaborative, Lindsay Owens, reacted with the following statement:

“This Thanksgiving, the main course is inflation as Trump’s policies force families to carve up their shrinking budgets. While the president gears up for a press tour to convince Americans they’re better off under his economy, more than half of them blame Trump for high prices this Thanksgiving. Hardworking families deserve a holiday table filled with gratitude — not higher costs caused by failed leadership.”

President of AFT, Randi Weingarten, reacted with the following statement: 

“This Thanksgiving, families across America will continue to suffer — paying exorbitant grocery prices for this quintessential American annual gathering — because this administration ‘s policies  made the cost of living higher than the year before. We must do everything we can to make it easier, not harder, for working Americans to afford groceries, housing and healthcare. Let’s put politics aside and work toward solutions that improve lives rather than shatter them.”

Fellow at The Century Foundation, Laura Valle-Gutierrez reacted with the following statement: 

“After years of inflation and stress, families deserve a Thanksgiving where they can come together to enjoy good food and each other’s company. Unfortunately, President Trump has families burnt out and anxious as prices skyrocket across the country. Families need less stress this holiday season, but inflation and chaos are the only things the Trump administration is bringing to the table this Thanksgiving.”

Turkey With a Side of Sticker Shock

• Trimming staples aren’t spared. Onions are up 56% this season. Creamed corn will come in over 20% more than last year, butternut squash and collard greens are up more than 12%, and french fried onion topping for a green bean casserole has climbed 15%.
• Frozen turkey prices are stable as grocers try to entice customers in the door, but wholesale prices have soared 75% over the past year, according to research from Purdue University, and fresh turkey prices are up 36%, as rising feed costs and avian flu ravage poultry farms. And those looking for turkey alternatives will feel the pinch of soaring spiral ham and beef roast prices, which are up more than 50% and nearly 20%, respectively.
• Trump’s economy even makes dessert hard to swallow. Refrigerated pie crust is climbing by nearly 13% and pie filling costs more too: honeycrisp apples and pecans are up over 8% and 11%, respectively, while canned fruits and vegetables across the board are up by 5% year-over-year, as Trump’s 50% tariff on steel drives up canning costs for the roughly 80% of canned goods that rely on imported steel.

Families Are Pulling Back on Festivities

• Skyrocketing prices are skyrocketing stress. A majority of Americans say that it’s harder to afford a typical Thanksgiving meal this year compared to last, according to new polling from Data for Progress. Moreover, two-thirds of voters feel stressed about affording holiday expenses, including one in five who say they feel very stressed.
• The holidays are starting to feel out of reach. Under Trump, soaring holiday costs are forcing a majority of families to scale back on purchases and scale up on debt: Many are buying less, shrinking gatherings, relying on credit cards and Buy Now, Pay Later options, or cutting Thanksgiving travel. More than half of voters blame Trump’s economic agenda for the price hikes.

Trump’s Policies Are to Blame for Rising Thanksgiving Costs

• Trump’s tariffs are hiking the price of leftovers. Tariffs on imported metals are raising prices on Thanksgiving leftovers as well — Reynold’s Wrap aluminum foil will run customers 40% more this year. Reynolds’ CEO told investors that the company’s input prices have risen sharply, prompting them to raise prices to cover the costs of tariffs on inputs.
• “Liberation day” has ruined libations. Mary Taylor, an American importer of European wines, was hit with a $40,000 tariff charge on a single shipment. Even domestic vintners aren’t spared: rising cork and glass costs are forcing winemakers like Kory Burke of California’s Dresser Winery to raise prices by as much as 15% per bottle.