With Thanksgiving still six weeks away, major retailers are already announcing holiday meal packages as Americans face rising grocery bills and a renewed acceleration in inflation.
Walmart-owned Sam’s Club announced Oct. 15 that its Thanksgiving assortment will include 11 offerings, serving up to 16 people. Aldi and Lidl also unveiled low-priced baskets of ingredients this week, each intended to feed 10.
The Sam’s Club lineup, which the membership warehouse calls its biggest Thanksgiving meal yet, includes smoked turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, dinner rolls, a charcuterie tray, and two pumpkin pies.
The package costs about $160 before tax, though the total may vary because several items are sold by weight. The advertised price of less than $10 per person assumes shoppers buy the full assortment and serve 16 guests.
The company also cautions that its serving estimates do not guarantee every guest a full portion of every item.
Aldi’s offering, announced Oct. 14, includes a 16-pound turkey and ingredients for stuffing, sweet potatoes, vegetables, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie for under $39.
The grocer said the ingredients will become available on different dates. While pricing for most items began Oct. 14, cranberries arrive Oct. 26, the turkey Nov. 4, and the pumpkin pie mix Nov. 11. Prices run through Nov. 25 and may vary by location and product availability.
Lidl’s package, announced a day earlier, costs $35.86 for loyalty-program members and will be available Nov. 11–25. It includes a 14-pound frozen turkey and ingredients for sides and dessert, including stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie.
The announcements come as inflation places additional pressure on household budgets heading into the holidays.
The Consumer Prices Index, a broad measure of goods and services costs, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent in September, according to the latest data released Oct. 14 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That puts the 12-month inflation rate at 3.7 percent, up from 3.4 percent in August.
Food prices were 2.5 percent higher than in September 2025. Grocery prices, which exclude restaurant meals, increased by 1.8 percent over the same period, although they edged down a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent from August.
Several Thanksgiving staples nevertheless cost more than a year ago. Prices in the uncooked poultry category, which includes turkey, rose by 8.4 percent. Canned vegetables increased by 3.4 percent, bread rose by 3.3 percent, and potatoes edged up by 1.1 percent.
Some other ingredients became cheaper. Butter and margarine prices fell by 7.6 percent from a year earlier, while cheese and related products declined by 3 percent. Ice cream and related products dropped by 2.4 percent, and egg prices fell by 20.6 percent.
Gasoline prices jumped 9.1 percent in September, accounting for more than half of the monthly increase in the Consumer Price Index, according to the bureau. Prices were 34.2 percent higher than a year earlier.
The national average price at the pump stood at $4.33 per gallon on Oct. 15, up from $2.98 on Feb. 27, just before the war in Iran began, according to the American Automobile Association.
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