Vegetarians Get Good News for Christmas

Christmas for vegetarians may be cheaper this year, according to an analysis by Creditnews.

Data by the platform shows that a Christmas dinner will cost about $80.60, nearly 5 percent more than last year, for a family of four. The price of sauces, turkey, pastries and pies have all seen a jump from last year, Creditnews reported. However, vegetables were nearly 1 percent cheaper this holiday season compared to last year and potatoes saw a dip in price of more than 3 percent.

"The only category that dropped in price was vegetables," the survey found.

The jump in prices for most Christmas food is an illustration of how inflation is impacting the cost of goods and services for Americans. Creditnews points out that since 2020, consumer prices jumped nearly 20 percent, with food prices soaring by 25 percent.

"When it comes to the cost of Christmas dinner, there's good and bad news. The good news is inflation—specifically, food inflation—is moderating compared to last year," Sam Bourgi, senior analyst at Creditnews, said. "The bad news is that food inflation has compounded since the pandemic and has far outpaced overall inflation."

Newsweek contacted Creditnews for additional comment via email on Thursday afternoon.

Creditnews' analysis, however, determined a much higher cost for dinner on Christmas 2023 than a similar look by Category Partners, which examined food data from national supermarkets and found that a Christmas dinner will cost 7 percent higher this year, at more than $50 for a family of four compared to a year ago. While prices have slightly moderated, the price of food was nearly 19 percent higher than Christmas 2021.

The supermarket data analyzed by Category Partners revealed that seafood costs nearly 2 percent less than a year ago but produce went up more than 2 percent. These two categories have seen slower price jumps than average inflation, while grocery prices—up 10.5 percent—and bakery goods—up 9.5 percent—saw prices top inflation.

"Slowing food price inflation across the supermarket is good news for consumers," Tom Barnes, CEO of Category Partners, said in a statement. "The data confirms that while prices remain elevated the alarming food price inflation we saw two years ago has moderated."

Barnes told Newsweek in a follow-up email that gourmet items have witnessed a slower rate of inflation than a lot of staple alternatives. Organic salad costs 7 percent more over the past year compared to conventional salads, whose prices have gone up almost 13 percent, he said.

But Barnes also pointed out that vegetarian meals can require higher-end alternatives, which can cost more than the meat options.

"I would say that overall the vegetarian meal would still cost more than a non-vegetarian meal, but the impact of inflation on what is spent on a vegetarian meal this year versus last year would be less," Barnes said.

As Americans get ready to gather for their Christmas food, Barnes suggested that there are ways to get savings by being strategic about what to put on for dinner.

"Price increases vary dramatically by item and consumers can reduce holiday food costs by being flexible," he said.

He pointed out that beefsteak will set buyers back $9.43 per pound, costing nearly 7 percent more than last year. But consumers can choose to go for beef brisket, which costs an average of $4.52, 1 percent less than in 2022.

Overall, consumers will be stung less by sticker shock than last year, Barnes said.

"Consumers should be pleasantly surprised this season when shopping for their holiday meals in most of the fresh departments at their local supermarkets," he said. "Inflation is a constant concern as consumers try to make ends meet. The slower than average inflation in the produce, meat and seafood departments means consumers could be a little more merry this season."