Turkey troubles: Customers feeling the pinch while putting together holiday meals

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - At this time a week from now you may be going back for seconds or dozing off, but until then you might find that your holiday budget doesn’t stretch as far as it usually does.

Adding the traditional turkey, potatoes, and stuffing to your cart could cost up to 20% more than last year.

“I did eventually find what I wanted but I had to hit a bunch of stores to get it,” said Chrystal Brock, a Lincoln shopper.

At Open Harvest Co-Op Grocery in Lincoln, many hitting the aisles said they are not only seeing rising prices but less to choose from.

“I’m seeing a lot of empty shelves where I didn’t expect them,” Brock said. “I actually could not find the instant mashed potatoes because I’m going to cut corners this year.”

Open Harvest said that’s not out of the ordinary this holiday season, they said they’ve been prepping for Thanksgiving for months and are still coming up short.

“We had to order so far ahead in advance for our turkey orders, to guarantee butter and cheese,” said Elizabeth Norris, the food service manager at Open Harvest. “We were doing our commitments back in March for some of these really popular items.”

This year, a 16-pound turkey could cost around $29 compared to last year’s $24. According to a report from the American Farm Bureau, a classic Thanksgiving dinner is running about $64 to serve 10 people. That’s up about $11 from last year.

Open Harvest said they’re offering other options for those looking to save a few bucks.

“I’m seeing a trend where folks are ordering for us to make the food because buying individual ingredients is really going to put your basket cost up,” Norris said.

If you haven’t already, start making your shopping lists and get those turkeys as soon as you can.

“There are still turkeys on the shelf here,” Norris said. “But once these are gone I don’t have any more in my freezer.”

Open Harvest suggests if you can’t find traditional ingredients, try using seasonal items that are on sale to modify your holiday dishes.

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