For many Americans, Thanksgiving is a time of plenty. For too many of our neighbors, however, it’s another day of struggling to put food on the table — a challenge made harder by rising food prices the Trump administration is loath to acknowledge.
A new survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation shows the average price of Thanksgiving meal ($55.18 for a typical spread for 10 people) has fallen 5% from last year but is still above pre-pandemic levels.
While that’s encouraging news for the holiday season, other measures — including the Consumer Price Index, which shows at-home food prices up nearly 3% from a year ago — indicate that buying groceries is more challenging for many. The increases are attributable in part to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and a shortage of farm labor exacerbated by the administration’s broad crackdown on undocumented workers.
Food prices are up 18.2% since January 2022, according to numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In a recent survey by Axios and the Harris Poll, 7 in 10 Americans reported they’re paying more for groceries this year than in 2024.
The Trump administration, unfortunately, appears focused on delivering a self-serving message that falsely claims life for all Americans has improved dramatically in the past 11 months.
Trump continues to state, falsely, that Walmart’s annual estimate for a Thanksgiving meal is 25% lower than a year ago. He conveniently omits that the meal used for the 2025 estimate contains fewer and cheaper items than 2024.
The price for half of the ingredients in a typical Thanksgiving meal has fallen slightly, according to the Farm Bureau survey, but other items are more expensive. A vegetable tray is up more than 61%, for example, and sweet potatoes are up 37%. The wholesale price of turkey is also higher than 2024, but grocers lowered retail prices to lure more shoppers.
“Despite modest declines in the cost of a Thanksgiving meal, I know food prices are a real concern for many families, including in rural America,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the Farm Bureau. He urged Congress to address trade uncertainty and other issues that led to the closure of 15,000 farms last year.
This fall, ground beef prices were up nearly 13% and coffee almost 19%. Eggs, a centerpiece of Trump’s campaign, are below the peak in March but have risen in price in recent weeks.
Following the GOP’s losses in Virginia and elsewhere on Election Day, Trump lifted tariffs on imported coffee, beef, bananas and other commodities to help lower prices — evidence that, despite his claims to the contrary, the cost of higher tariffs is typically borne by consumers, not producers or manufacturers.
No presidential administration, Democratic or Republican, is immune to economic trouble, and the tools our chief executive can use to bring down cost-of-living prices are limited.
But the current Congress does have the ability to shape policies — such as those affecting farms, as AFBF’s Duvall points out — that influence what we pay at the cash register.
Voters tend to hold politicians accountable for inflation and the cost-of-living, regardless of whether all the dynamics creating economic turmoil can be controlled in Washington, D.C. With next fall’s midterm congressional elections on the horizon, intelligent and conscientious lawmakers and administration officials will look for ways to ease the economic woes of voters.
One step would be a sensible immigration policy that focuses on deporting violent criminals but finds a path to citizens already working and contributing to our economy. A consistent. An coherent tariff plan that honestly reflects the cost for consumers would be a plus, too, as would a restored commitment to federal programs that help people through difficult times and ensure they don’t go hungry.
In a country as wealthy as the United States, no person should struggle to afford food (or housing or medical care) — a goal that, in this week of plentitude, we should all remember and commit to fulfill.
