GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – When you see the bill for your Thanksgiving feast this year will you be able to add it to your list of things to be thankful for or will it make you gobble in anger? 

According to a Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation study, a traditional Thanksgiving meal will cost Wisconsinites 1.36 percent less this year compared to last year.

The organization looked at the average price statewide of popular Thanksgiving food items used to prepare a meal for 10 people. They then added up the average cost of each item and found that an average Thanksgiving meal for 10 people in Wisconsin would cost about $58.81.

Grocery store officials Local Five News spoke with said that prices are still above where they were prior to the pandemic.

“They (food prices) are relatively the same or slightly lower across the board,” said Festival Foods assistant store director Nick Kaisershot. “In-stock conditions and supplier conditions have been better this year which in turn helps with pricing.”

Kaisershot said that the week before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times at the store during the year.

Local Five News visited Festival Foods and Woodman’s Food Market on Thursday to see how their prices for Thanksgiving items compare to the statewide averages from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau study.

Between the two stores, we found instances where prices on stuffing, dinner rolls, turkey, and pumpkin pie were below the state average. Visiting multiple stores to find the best prices is one thing that can be done to save money this Thanksgiving.

Another is to take advantage of coupons and store-brand items.

“We have a lot of great store brands, ‘Essential Everyday’ is our store brand,” said Kaisershot. “Great product with that at a great value.”