How Much Does Your Thanksgiving Shopping Cart Cost?
With Thanksgiving almost here, we are certainly filling up our carts at the grocery store with all the necessary ingredients. But we were curious how much a traditional Thanksgiving grocery cart costs at several popular chain supermarkets. We filled out carts with all the classic items like turkey, potatoes, green beans, and stuffing. Next, we contacted a few stores — Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's, Albertsons and ShopRite — and priced out the different carts. Here are the results:
| Whole Foods | Trader Joe's | Albertsons | ShopRite | |
| 12-14 pound turkey | $30.00 | $24.00 | $7.08 | $22.35 |
| 1 bag cubed stuffing mix | $3.39 | $2.69 | $0.99 | $0.88 |
| 1 can chicken stock | $2.99 | $2.99 | $1.67 | $1.79 |
| 1 can cranberry sauce | $1.99 | $3.49 | $1.50 | $0.88 |
| 3 pounds green beans | $4.47 | $5.97 | $2.97 | $3.99 |
| 8 sweet potatoes = about 5 pounds | $8.95 | $2.45 | $1.90 | $8.95 |
| 8 Russet potatoes | $4.99 | $2.45 | $2.99 | $2.99 |
| 1 bag marshmallows | $4.99 | N/A | $1.00 | $1.59 |
| 1 quart milk | $1.29 | $1.29 | $1.99 | $1.69 |
| 1 container butter | $4.79 | $2.79 | $1.88 | $3.99 |
| 1 pumpkin pie | $10.99 | $6.99 | $3.99 | $4.99 |
| 1 bag of bread rolls | $4.29 | $2.99 | $3.00 | $2.99 |
| Total | $83.13 | $58.10 | $30.96 | $57.08 |
Whole Foods tops the list as the most expensive because many of their products are organic — and it seems that you pay for it. Trader Joe's and ShoprRite offer fair prices considering the good quality of their products. Albertsons seems to be the best value for all that you get, but you might have to question the quality of such inexpensive products.
So, from our results, it's clear that you can be a smart shopper and cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal for less money than you might have thought. And with coupons and club cards, it's possible to save even more.
Special Thanks to Julie Kang for her help on this article.
Emily Jacobs is the Recipe editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyRecipes.
For more turkey talk, head over to The Daily Meal's Guide to Thanksgiving