🦃 TALK TURKEY: TRUMP’S ECONOMY JUST PUT THE GOBBLE BACK IN YOUR WALLET
Turkey with a Side of Savings: How Trump’s Economic Revival Is Serving Up a More Affordable Thanksgiving
By Staff Writer
November 12, 2025
The automatic doors at a Walmart in Des Moines slide open, and Sarah Miller steps inside, list in hand, smile in tow. She pauses at the display of Butterball turkeys — $0.97 a pound — and shakes her head in quiet disbelief. “Last year,” she says, “I was deciding which side dish to cut just to make it all work. This year, I’m inviting the neighbors.”
All around her, carts glide past in a chorus of relief. For the first time in years, the Thanksgiving shopping trip — that annual test of budget and optimism — feels like a celebration again.
A Feast for Less: The Return of the Affordable Table
Across the country, families like Sarah’s are discovering that the numbers are finally moving in their favor. Walmart, the nation’s largest grocer, announced that its 2025 Thanksgiving meal basket for ten people will cost under $40 — down from roughly $55 last year. That’s the lowest price tag since 2019, a throwback to pre-pandemic affordability. The basket includes more than twenty essentials — from mashed potatoes to pumpkin pie fixings — anchored by a Butterball® turkey that headlines a feast for less than $4 per person.
It’s not an isolated victory. Lidl has followed suit, cutting its full Thanksgiving spread by another $10 year-over-year, a move that signals a broader market shift. For years, families tightened belts and trimmed guest lists as inflation bit deep into holiday budgets. But this year, the tide has turned. Where there was once sticker shock, there’s now gratitude — the kind that can be measured in extra pies, longer tables, and laughter that feels a little lighter.
The Policy Harvest: Economic Roots of Relief
Behind those falling prices lies a story of policy and purpose. President Donald J. Trump’s economic blueprint — Make America Affordable Again — is bearing fruit just months into his second term. New data from DoorDash’s State of Local Commerce Report paints a vivid picture of transformation.
The Breakfast Basics Index — tracking the price of a bagel, milk, eggs, and an avocado — plummeted 14% between March and September, and it’s down another 1.7% over the past year. The Everyday Essentials Index, which monitors the costs of items like shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, and diapers, shows similar declines. For the average American, it means life’s routines no longer carry a financial sting.
“Prices for daily necessities are not just stabilizing — they’re retreating,” notes Janet Harkins, senior analyst at MarketEdge Economics. “That’s the real measure of confidence: when people stop holding their breath at the checkout line.”
Wages That Work Harder
Paychecks are stretching further too. Trump’s pro-growth policies are fueling wage growth that’s outpacing restaurant price increases — not just nationally, but in half of the cities DoorDash studied. The result: disposable income with actual flexibility.
“You can see it in small ways,” says café owner Miguel Alvarez of Cincinnati. “People are tipping better again. They’re adding a slice of pie. It’s subtle, but it means the fear is gone.”
That ripple effect extends far beyond dining tables. Local economies are reviving with vigor — 56% of Americans report fewer shuttered storefronts than a year ago. From small-town diners to Main Street boutiques, the hum of activity signals something economists haven’t measured in a while: optimism.
From the Oval Office to the Aisles
The administration calls this a “policy harvest” — tangible proof that supply-side incentives, deregulation, and tax relief can do what abstract forecasts often promise but seldom deliver: real relief for real people.
“The President made affordability the heart of his agenda,” reads a recent White House release. “Lower prices. Bigger paychecks. Stronger communities. This is what rebuilding confidence looks like.”
And it’s not just numbers. DoorDash data shows that overall food spending rose nearly 5% over the last year — not due to higher prices, but because Americans are spending more freely. When people believe their wallets can keep pace, they don’t just buy — they live again.
Gratitude Beyond the Groceries
In 2022 and 2023, headlines warned of “The $65 Thanksgiving” — a symbol of inflation’s pinch. Now, the holiday is becoming its opposite: a testament to renewal. The nation that once flinched at rising costs now leans forward into abundance.
As Sarah Miller loads her cart — cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, sweet potatoes — she glances at her total and smiles. “You know,” she says, “it feels like America’s getting back to normal. And that’s something to be thankful for.”
A Nation Rediscovers Its Rhythm
Thanksgiving has always been more than a meal. It’s a mirror of where we stand as a people — our values, our resilience, our faith that better days are within reach. This year, the reflection is bright: fuller shelves, fuller wallets, fuller hearts.
Every generation faces its winter, and every one finds its spring. This November, the return of affordable abundance feels like more than good fortune — it feels like the American spirit itself, roaring back to life.
So as the turkey roasts and the lights twinkle once again across small towns and city streets, there’s a simple truth worth savoring: when perseverance meets policy, hope comes back to the table.
Thanksgiving by the Numbers
Walmart Meal Basket 2025: $39.94 (feeds 10)
Down: 25% from 2024
Butterball® Turkey: $0.97/lb
Wage Growth: Outpacing restaurant prices in 50% of U.S. cities
Inflation: Lowest levels since 2020
Food Spending: +4.9% year-over-year
Official Sources
Walmart Corporate: Walmart’s Annual Thanksgiving Meal Returns — Serving 10 People for Less Than $4.00 Per Person
The White House: NEW DATA: Lower Prices, Bigger Paychecks
DoorDash: What National Statistics Miss: Inside DoorDash’s First-Ever State of Local Commerce Report
