NEW ORLEANS — Has the higher cost of a Thanksgiving meal made you change to a more budget-friendly shopping list, or maybe a smaller invitation list?
So, what people are talking about this Thanksgiving in the grocery store.
It's four days before you get stuffed with stuffing and the Dorignac's parking lot and aisles are, well, stuffed with shoppers.
“I am getting all my ingredients for my chitlins. I'll bake the turkey tomorrow night,” said an 86-year-old woman.
People were making their "makin' grocery list" and checking it twice. One shopper was checking it with his “boss." That’s his wife who was FaceTiming with him.
“Actually, on the phone with me making sure we get everything right, so we don't have to do it twice. Here she is in real-time,” he said.
The American Farm Bureau Federation's Thanksgiving dinner survey finds this year's meal is down 5 percent from last year, but it is still 19 percent higher than in 2019. And shoppers know it.
“The prices are so high now, hopefully, Thanksgiving next year will be better. You don't have as many dishes. You don't have as many people over to eat either one woman said with a laugh about how she saves money.
“Like chopped seasoning is two-something here, somewhere else, I'm not calling it, $4.98,” said a woman who saves by checking out prices and going to different stores.
Another shopper says she cuts ingredients.
“Not get as much shrimp. Don't put the crab meat in the eggplant seafood dish, because it's a little high. Not as much maybe cheese that you would normally put, but it's the holidays so do it,” she said.
“Well, I know toilet paper has gone up. I always check that price,” said another shopper.
And then there are people who have a different tradition. It doesn't matter that Thanksgiving's on a Thursday and not a Monday.
“Red beans, trinity, because I don't feel like chopping up vegetables, bay leaves, red beans, andouille sauce,” said the wife on FaceTime with the husband, who was having him get traditional New Orleans favorites.
For that family, time with family is not the time to save.
“We're going to enjoy ourselves. It's the time to be together and eat what you like. So, not around this time now. Any other day, yeah, we'll cut corners sometimes,” her husband said.
But for others, it's the time to save on the number of family members at the table.
“It used to be a big ole feast, a lot of relatives. Now it's just the close-knit because it's too expensive. And don't talk about Christmas,” she laughed.
The average price for a 16-pound turkey is down about $1.60 from last year, but dinner rolls and stuffing are up eight percent due to higher labor costs, while cranberry prices have increased almost 12 percent each year.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.