The Thanksgiving Challenge
How to feed a small army on a budget
By KYLE REYES
Updated 5:46 PM EST, Mon, Dec 1, 2008
We've never been able to turn away a good challenge.
That's why this email from "Sarah" caught our eye:
"Where in the world can you buy a Thanksgiving meal for 10 for $44.00? I dare a local news reporter to go out and try to do that. That is absurd. It would be a pretty meager meal."
Sarah, you're on.
Here's how we shopped: We took three grocery stores that can typically be found in relatively close proximity to each other across the state, and left out discount shopping clubs. That would just be too easy. We also left out less-expensive grocery stories like Price Rite, Price Chopper, and Aldi simply because you can't find them everywhere.
We stuck with the basics - turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, and milk. We also left dessert up to the guests to bring. Same thing with the wine (which, depending on the guests, you might need more or less of).
The List
Shaws
3 boxes Stove Top Stuffing Mix ($1.00 each) $3.00
2 cans Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce ($1.00 each) $2.00
2 lbs. Green Beans ($.99/lb) $1.98
Stop And Shop
1 22lb Shady Brook Farms Frozen Turkey ($.69/lb) $15.18
4 lbs sweet potatoes ($.50/lb) $2.00
1 Box Domino Brown Sugar $1.00
1 Pound Land O Lakes Butter $1.99
Big Y
5 lbs bag of potatoes $2.50
3 packages frozen corn (Buy One for $1.99, Get Two Free) $1.99
2 packages Crescent Rolls (3 for $5) $3.33
3 cans Campbell's Gravy (Buy One for $1.35, Get Two Free) $1.35
1 gallon of milk $3.99
Grand total? $40.31
Make sure you bring your frequent shopper cards to get the best deals. These were the sale prices when we did our shopping on November 20.
After doing the test, we actually think you could pull this off for less. The closer we get to Thanksgiving, the more specials you'll see on turkey. Several grocery stores will even drop the price below $.48/lb if you spend a minimum of $25 at the store.
Find an even better deal? Let us know in the comments section below!
First Published: Nov 20, 2008 11:51 AM EST
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