As Thanksgiving approaches, several supermarket chains have announced holiday meals under $40, making affordability a centerpiece of the holiday table.
On Monday, Wegmans announced it would match the cost of its holiday meal last year with a Thanksgiving bundle that serves eight people for less than $5 per person. This year’s meal features a 13-pound frozen turkey, yams, gravy, a frozen pumpkin pie and private brand items like canned corn, dinner rolls, cream of mushroom soup and chicken stock.
Midwest grocer Schnuck Markets last week unveiled a 10-serving Thanksgiving meal that costs less than $4 per serving. Like Wegmans’ holiday offer, Schnucks’ deal also includes several private label items, like canned corn and mini marshmallows.
On Wednesday, Winn-Dixie announced two under-$40 holiday meal deals, giving its customers different options based on their willingness to cook from scratch. One cook-at-home meal serves six for $38.90, while the other option features a heat-and-serve meal for $39.99 and serves three to five people.
The cook-at-home option includes a 10-14 pound frozen turkey; private label stuffing, gravy mix, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls; a fresh pumpkin pie; sweet potatoes; and ingredients for a green bean casserole. For the heat-and-serve meal, customers can choose either ham or turkey and select four Reser’s sides from six options. That meal also comes with King's Hawaiian Dinner Rolls.
Price Rite Marketplace is also giving consumers options for Thanksgiving. The Wakefern Food Corp. banner announced Thursday lists of ingredients for two Thanksgiving meals that feed 10 for less than $3.90 per person. One is a traditional meal with a whole turkey as the star dish, while the other is a Hispanic-inspired meal featuring a pork shoulder as the main protein.
These offerings from traditional grocers come on the heels of Lidl and Aldi introducing earlier this month Thanksgiving bundles that feed 10 people for under $40. Aldi’s costs $38.74 and Lidl’s costs $35.86 for loyalty members.
Rising grocery prices are adding stress to consumers’ wallets as they plan holiday spending, according to an Omnisend survey of more than 4,300 consumers across the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Australia. Between 33% and 43% of consumers polled said they’ll spend more on food on this year’s holiday than they did on last year’s, and about half said they feel significantly more stressed about hosting than they did a year ago, the survey found.
Research by Circana found that consumers will selectively cut back on holiday spending this year, with prices in the grocery aisle serving as one of the key pressure points.
“Value remains the defining theme heading into the holiday season, as grocery costs and anticipated price increases continue to shape shopping decisions,” Circana said in a blog post on the survey findings.
In a bid for convenience, though, shoppers are embracing prepared foods and catering as a way to make holiday meal planning easier, the firm found.
