Thanksgiving inflation turns shoppers into chickens

Inflation is forcing controversial Big Apple shoppers to grumble on Thanksgiving, with some telling The Post they’ll gobble up chicken because Turkey is very expensive.

“I’ll buy cooked chicken, which they usually sell for $5 or $7,” sighed Osvaldo Paez, 62, who has a steady income and always celebrates Thanksgiving with turkey.

At Key Food in the East Village, where The Post found Baez to shop, a 16-pound Butterball was $1.99 a pound — after spending an additional $75 on groceries.

“All of these companies are making money, billions and billions and billions, and they’re still inflating prices on all the items,” he said. “And allowing the government to do so – they are well aware.”

A handout of 12 holiday items serving 10 people is estimated to bring in $64.05 this year, up 20 percent from $53.31 just last year, according to the annual American Farm Federation survey.

Frozen turkeys surveyed cost $1.81 per pound in mid-to-late October, a 21 percent jump from last year, in part because of a smaller flock this year and more expensive feed costs.

Among the other price increases: The cube fill costs $3.88 for a 14-ounce box versus a 14-ounce one. $2.29 last year, while a two-pack of the waffles rose 77 cents to $3.68.

Fed up shoppers said The Biden administration’s profligate spending He is responsible for their sudden state of financial loss.

“We spent a lot of money as a government, and that’s the problem,” said Jim Petros, 74. “There is no such thing as free money and you have to figure it out sometime.”

“Who is in management now?” said the 62-year-old bookkeeper rhetorically, adding that eggs cost $10. “It wasn’t like that before.”

“I am disgusted,” she added. “I can’t save anything. I can’t save a little bit of what I used to go on vacation.”

The The president said last month that he was trying to help families Deal with the fact that Thanksgiving “costs a lot” of money at an event announcing efforts to reduce bank “junk fees.”

These families are now experiencing a bad case of supermarket sticker shock.

Denise Perez, 47, who was dumbfounded to see roast pork fetching $1.49 a pound, a 50 percent increase from the usual price, exclaims — the price of turkey and vegetables.

“General inflation, which reduces the purchasing power of consumers, is a significant contributing factor to the increase in the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner this year.” said AFBF Chief Economist Roger Cryanwhich additionally linked high costs to supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine.