Instead of spending hours laboring in the kitchen this Thanksgiving, Providence families can purchase fully cooked, all-inclusive and reasonably priced turkey dinners from their favorite grocery stores. For many families, however, tradition may prevail over convenience even in today's tough economic climate.
Stop and Shop offers a full meal for six to eight people for only $60. In addition to a Butterball turkey and the accompanying gravy and cranberry sauce, the dinner includes mashed potatoes, stuffing, butternut squash, rolls and either pumpkin or apple pie, according to the Stop and Shop Web site. Rob Johnson, assistant deli manager at the Super Stop and Shop on West River Street, said the turkey dinners have been offered for about eight years and have always been "a popular item," citing their convenience as the primary reason for their popularity.
This year, Johnson said he estimates the store has sold 70 of the dinners. Despite this year's poor financial conditions, Johnson said that number is not markedly different from any other year's sales. Shoppers still flocked to the frozen turkey section on Sunday, preferring to cook their own Thanksgiving dinners rather than purchase the ready-made meals at a bargain price.
Claudia Sweeney, one such shopper from Pawtucket, said the economic conditions have not affected her Thanksgiving plans "at all," adding that the cooking itself is one of her favorite parts of the holiday. Sweeney said she and her husband, who is from Syria, incorporate traditional Syrian dishes into their meal.
A Butterball turkey sat in Sweeney's shopping cart, but she said she would prefer a slightly more expensive Nature's Promise all-natural turkey. "So I guess (the economy) has affected me," she said.
Whole Foods offers a similar pre-cooked turkey dinner, but at $20 per person, it is nearly twice as expensive as Stop and Shop's. The Whole Foods meal also does not include dessert. The "Thanksgiving 2008" pamphlet available in the store does, however, provide an extensive selection of side dishes, platters, hors d'oeuvres and vegetarian alternatives that can be pre-ordered like the traditional turkey dinner.
Sweeney said purchasing a pre-cooked meal would defeat much of the purpose of her Thanksgiving, but said she was "glad that those are available" for families who might not have as much time to prepare an elaborate meal.
For Sweeney, Thanksgiving would not be the same without "everybody bringing something" to the meal and coming together to "rejoice" and give thanks, she said.
