Cost of 2010 "Turkey Dinner" -- grocery prices are up only 1.3 percent from 2009

from MLive dot-com -- Grand Rapids Press AP coverage of Michigan stores

The cost of this traditional meal for 10 will average $43.47, a 56-cent price increase from last year's $42.91, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

One reason the price has gone up only 1.3 percent is because turkeys cost less than they did last year, says the group.
A 16-pound turkey cost $17.66, a 99-cent drop from $18.65, according to the bureau's informal price survey that is based on prices gathered from volunteer shoppers across the nation.
Shoppers can find lower prices on frozen turkeys than the national average of $1.10 per pound at local grocery stores.
Turkeys are selling for 49 cents a pound with a $20 purchase at Spartan Stores' Family Fare and D&W Fresh Market stores. Meijer is offering $9 off a hen turkey and $16 off of a tom with a $20 purchase.
Locking in prices in February, a few months earlier than usual, helped the Byron Township grocer reduce its turkey costs by one-third.
"Frozen turkey prices are up over last year but not as much as the cost," said Hartline, adding that the grocer passed along those savings to its wholesale customers who are independent grocers.
The retailer is also holding down its fresh turkey prices to 98 cents a pound, the same as last year, to highlight its newly introduced Spartan Fresh Selection brand.
Whole frozen turkeys sold for an average of $1.57 a pound at stores in September, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier and the highest level since at least 1980, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
"This year, supply and demand have come into play," said Hartline. "There's not a lot of turkeys on the market."