KATHLEEN, Ga. — When you go to the supermarket to shop for your family this Thanksgiving, you may notice a few items costing more than they did the year before.
J.J. Arias, an economics professor at Georgia College, says we can blame shortages in the labor supply.
Arias says there are a few reasons including COVID-19, government policies, and energy prices that increase the cost of moving food.
Laura Bailleul feeds a family of five for the holidays.
"I just happened to be at Aldi one day and it was 89 cents a pound. Being we got the bigger boys and we like to have leftovers, let's try and get the biggest turkey we can," said Bailleul.
"The whole family enjoys doing the meal thing together. Everybody has their favorites -- obviously, the standards that everybody likes. We do the green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, we do the rolls, we have a salad. My husband likes to make a coleslaw," said Bailleul.
Bailleul says she likes to deep fry their Thanksgiving Turkey, but this year, "I've noticed the prices have increased every year. I have not seen it yet in the store. I know last time we bought it, it was like $40 for the oil to go in there and it's typically one-time use," she said.
With turkeys generally being more expensive, Laura made sure she shopped around.
"I did notice at Kroger that the turkeys are a little bit more expensive there than they were at Aldi, but then you have to be able to hit the sales properly because they are not always on sale," said Bailleul.
Arias says use your common sense this holiday season.
"Start early, buy stuff ahead of time, and just shop around -- it's worth it now. Even though gas prices are higher, it might be worth it to look at what different grocery stores have for sale," said Arias.
"Get it all done and taken care of. That way, there's nothing to worry about," said Bailleul.
Arias says it might be worth looking into purchasing another freezer and buying in quantity for the whole holiday season, the reason being they may run out, and if you buy in bulk, there might be a quantity discount.