RAPID CITY, S.D. – This Thanksgiving, before the first parade balloon rises, Americans will have experienced a different and less fun version of inflation.
Prices on turkey this year, along with other popular culinary centerpieces, will see a significant rise in cost. Almost 20 percent in some cases – a more than 30-year high.
“If you look at putting on a Thanksgiving holiday feast, the turkey is 18 percent higher,” Minority Whip and South Dakota Senator John Thune explained. “Eggs, poultry, fish, meats 11.9 percent higher, year-over-year. October-to-October.”
In the Rapid City area, residents have also been feeling the cost of inflation as well.
And as they rush to pick up their thanksgiving essentials, making sure they are still in stock – some are even rethinking the big feast because of it.
“Everything is more expensive than it ever has been for a long time and the paycheck is not stretching like it should,” one resident said.
Creativity is also something that comes into play, especially for families.
“It definitely makes me reconsider, you know, what we’re going to use for meat-wise,” another resident explained. “Or even if we’re really even going to do it. Maybe for the kids do something special like a little chicken, Cornish hen.”
One resident in particular, Adam Rico, paid nearly $80 recently for three steaks; an amount that, he says, might have been better spent on dining out.
“It makes us more selective on what we’re going to eat. Sometimes it would probably be cheaper just to eat out that eating in based off the prices,” Rapid City Resident Adam Rico explained. “And I don’t have to cook or clean, do any stuff like that.”
According to Senator Thune, some people can expect to see sharp increases as well in their heating bills as the winter weather creeps in.
Residents that heat their homes with natural gas, home-heating fuel, and coal should expect to see costs 50-100 percent higher than last year. Something they have been anticipating and in some cases, like that of Lead resident Ann Hagen, have already seen.
“It’s gone up at least 25 percent. We noticed in our last bill it went up 70 dollars,” she explained. “So it’s going up, and it’s going to continue going up if something doesn’t happen.”
However, even with rising prices, residents are still finding ways to get their holiday meals on the table and enjoy the feast – even if it means layering up a little more as they gather together.
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