The traffic in and around the grocery store has already picked up. By Wednesday afternoon parking places will be hard to come by and nobody will be using the express line. Everyone will have more than 15 items because it's Thanksgiving week and that means a big grocery store trip.

If you're wondering about how much it's going to cost to feed your hungry bunch this year, you better plan on spending a few more dollars than you did last year.

It looks like the biggest price increase for this year's feast is going to be centered around the star of the show, the Thanksgiving turkey.

"We have fewer turkeys going through processing this year than in past years.  When you look at beef prices, those are brought up by the fact that we have the smallest beef herd in about 30, 40 years."

Avery Davidson of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Association explained the reasons in a story published by the Louisiana Radio Network.

Other items on your holiday table will actually cost less. Fresh cranberries are about eight cents cheaper and you'll probably pay a few cents less for your rolls. However the increase in the cost of turkey will raise the average Thanksgiving spread for 10 guests to a cost of just under $50. In fact when you do the math, on average, the cost per person for a traditional holiday meal will be $4.94 cents per guest. That is an increase of 3.7 cents per guest based on last year's prices.

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