With the holiday season upon us, many families might be worried about putting food on the table at Thanksgiving or presents under the tree approaching the season of giving. With rising inflation, times have been tough for some American families. Meijer is hoping to alleviate a little bit of the financial pressure this year by lowering the price of turkey just in time for Thanksgiving.
The Midwestern grocery store chain anticipates selling around 1 million turkeys this Thanksgiving season. According to Josh Potts, Meijer Poultry Buyer, “Customers can purchase Meijer brand frozen turkeys for only 59 cents per pound through Nov. 25.” This low price is roughly the same cost that the store previously sold whole turkeys for in the 1930’s.
Meijer brand fresh turkey, as compared to frozen, is also discounted– normally priced at $2.49 per pound, it is being sold for $1.19.
ABC News reported, “Consumer prices rose 3.7% in August compared to a year ago.” With high inflation rates only months ago, this price drop in turkey is a welcome one. We are grateful that Meijer is taking the initiative to help alleviate financial stress this holiday season through reducing the prices of their store brand turkeys.
Thankfully, along with the news of cheaper turkey comes economical reports showing a decline in inflation throughout October into November. The New York Times reported, “Inflation eased in October and price increases showed encouraging signs of slowing.”
More than anything, the news of inflation decreasing helps out lower income families– just like the price discount on Meijer’s turkeys. As college students, we are also excited to see Meijer take the initiative to work towards lower prices on holiday related items. Whether you plan to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with your family or with friends on campus, this price reduction helps out everyone.
For many families, finding ways to put food on the table can sometimes be a struggle. Promotional pricing of other grocery store branded items could potentially be a way to diminish this stress, while also helping grocery stores sell more store brand products.
Meijer is just one of many grocery stores that have their own food brands and in turn, control the products’ pricing. Walmart brands their line as “Great Value,” whereas Family Fare brands theirs as “Our Family.” While we don’t claim to be economists, we do think having promotions that help families out during the holidays is a great way for brands to show they value their customers.
This holiday turkey isn’t the only thing falling in price. According to reporting from USA Today, “The national average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline dropped on Tuesday to $3.353, the lowest since February.”
For college students returning to their hometowns to celebrate with family and friends, the drop in gas prices makes going home more attainable and can reduce anxiety surrounding finances.
This season, we are thankful to see inflation reducing, especially in food for Thanksgiving dinners and lower gas prices as we pack up and head home to see our families this holiday. We hope that other supermarket chains follow Meijer’s lead by pricing their brand products lower so they are more accessible to Americans, both during the holiday season and throughout the year.
