Thanksgiving is a week away and economists are saying the cost of a turkey dinner has actually gone down a little compared to last year.

With Thanksgiving approaching, we heard from Ken Louie, a local economist, on the cost of a turkey dinner in 2023. He believes inflation is moving in the right direction.

“Apparently turkey prices are going down are coming down so it’s about 5 percent cheaper to serve a family of 10 people over Thanksgiving compared to last year,” said Ken Louie, associate professor of economics at Penn State Behrend.

Louie said there was an avian flu outbreak among poultry that cut back the supply of turkeys and raised the price. He said the avian flu is behind us and now the supply of turkeys is back up.

One local butcher said this time of year they sell fresh turkeys, ordering 150 birds.

He said they come at a price that some shoppers are willing to spend.

“It seems like local community has supported us for 30 to 40 years,” said Jeff Ruban, butcher, gordon’s butcher and market. “And we try to give them the best thing we can give them for the most reasonable price.”

One shopper, Jimmy Zolner, said he’s already purchased his thanksgiving turkey. He said he’s trying to be optimistic about the cost of his favorite holiday.

“Well, the last couple of years since COVID all the prices have gone up quite a bit. They’re starting to stabilize a little bit but, they’re still a lot higher than years passed,” he said.

Many local shoppers said price won’t impact what they choose to buy for their holiday dinner.

“I cook for my family and family meal time is very important, we spend hours at the table,” said Gary Getz, local shopper.

“Its tradition, yeah tradition and thanksgiving dinner it’s good stuff” said another shopper