With Thanksgiving just around the corner, anxiety about inflation and talking politics after a hotly contested election can dampen festivities.
According to this year’s Butterball Togetherness Report, hosts are expecting more people at their Thanksgiving table than they have in recent years, with an average of nine people sitting down with them. Last year the average was seven people. Still, 98% of Americans say inflation will impact their holiday plans, up from 79% last year.
Of those celebrating Thanksgiving, 53% expect inflation to impact their plans in the same way as last year, while 44% expect inflation to have an even more significant impact than last year. Despite these numbers, 52% plan to keep their Thanksgiving celebrations the same to save money.
Of those surveyed, 87% plan to serve turkey, and 76% plan to serve a whole turkey. One out of every three turkeys served at Thanksgiving is a Butterball.
The number one thing that consumers are looking forward to is spending time with family, according to the report. This is followed by enjoying food, relaxing, reflecting on what they are grateful for, and having a good conversation, tied with dessert for No. 5.
Spending time with family is usually a time to share stories and make memories together, so Butterball, based in Garner, NC, is working on a project to record and archive those Thanksgiving table talks for future generations through the US Library of Congress.
Partnering with StoryCorps Studios, the idea is to record and archive conversations among everyday Americans discussing gratitude and the events that led to the nation’s birth.
“For all the incredible ways Thanksgiving traditionally brings people together, we recognize it’s been a tough year,” said Christa Leupen, director of purpose at Butterball, in a press release. “That’s why we saw a unique opportunity to partner with StoryCorps Studios to create this archive – to remind us of the conversations, memories, and traditions that can bring us together, even if we’ve never felt further apart. It’s another example of Butterball’s commitment to helping people pass love on.”
StoryCorps is a national nonprofit founded in 2003 that records and preserves the conversations of everyday Americans. The recordings are accumulated in the online collective and in the US Library of Congress.
For those interested in capturing their family conversation for posterity, Butterball and StoryCorps is offering a link to do so. Those who participate can submit their recording to the StoryCorps collection in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
“As a time for being with family and friends, and for counting our blessings, Thanksgiving is a perfect time to show loved ones how much they mean to us by recording a conversation together and preserving it for posterity in the Library of Congress,” said Caitlin Moses-Bowser, managing director of StoryCorps Studios. “StoryCorps Studios is excited to collaborate with Butterball to help people across the country find connection while preserving their treasured family traditions and memories this holiday season.”
Later this month, the stories submitted to the National Thanksgiving Archive will be unveiled on Butterball and StoryCorps social media platforms, just in time to serve as a reminder of the joys of gathering with friends and family.
Butterball also hosts a hotline, the “Turkey Talk-Line,” (1-800-BUTTERBALL or 1-800-288-8372) where people can call with questions about turkey cooking. The hotline was founded in 1981 when six home economists worked the phones that holiday season to answer about 11,000 turkey-cooking questions. The line is open every November and December when more than 50 experts answer more than 100,000 questions every year.