LEWISTON — Terry Smith of Lewiston had a frozen turkey in his grocery cart at the Hannaford supermarket on Friday afternoon. He’s having capons for Thanksgiving, but he bought a turkey because it was only 40 cents a pound.

“It’s a huge deal,” Smith said with a smile.

Brenda Lapierre said she was surprised when a co-worker told her the price of turkeys. “I thought, ‘Wow; that’s low.’ I’ve never heard of it at 40 cents a pound.”

Stores frequently cut frozen turkey prices below cost at Thanksgiving. This year, it’s lower than it has been in years. Hannaford and Wal-Mart seem to have the lowest prices, both 40 cents a pound. Last Thanksgiving, Hannaford was selling turkeys at 47 cents a pound.

Hannaford customers are limited to one per customer; at Wal-Mart it’s two per customer. On Friday afternoon, Wal-Mart was sold out. “Check in the morning. They go fast,” a store worker said.

The prices have some consumers — the ones with room in their freezers —
excited and stocking up.

Forty cents a pound is “wonderful,” said Sharon Hathaway, who teaches a high school consumer course called “Money” at Leavitt Area High School.

At 40 cents a pound, a typical serving of 12 ounces of turkey will cost 30 cents.”That is amazing,” Hathaway said.

She was buying only two turkeys because her freezer is full of chicken. “Poor planning,” she said. Her daughter was buying three or four.

Shaw’s supermarkets are selling turkeys for 47 cents a pound with a grocery purchase of $25 for each turkey; limit, two.

At the Greene IGA, frozen turkeys are selling for 47 cents a pound with the purchase of $35 worth of groceries.

Competition fierce

One reason prices are so low is that Wal-Mart announced a strategy on Nov. 4 to slash prices for the Christmas season, said Jim McConnon, economics professor at the University of Maine.

It’s not unusual at Thanksgiving to find turkey prices below cost, McConnon said. Stores selling turkeys for 40 or 48 cents a pound are losing money. They slash prices “to lure more people into the store to increase foot traffic, and hopefully shoppers will buy other things,” he said.

But 40 cents “is a significant decline,” he said. “We’re in a recession. We’re coming out of it very slowly. Consumer spending is still very weak.” Many people are out of work, under-employed or have had their hours cut. “People are focused more on price than anything else.”

Consumers have cut back on spending but still buy food. That has prompted heightened competition.

Hannaford spokesman Michael Norton said Hannaford’s turkey prices are the lowest in a decade. Price is a top concern among consumers, and his store is aggressively pricing many items. Some holiday items are down 15 percent, and some produce prices — tomatoes, peppers, grapes, melons and pears — are down 6 percent, he said.

Hannaford can do that because fuel costs have come down compared to a year ago.

“It’s all good for consumers,” Norton said. “The competition for food is sharper than it’s ever been.”

[email protected]

Turkey tip:

Before buying too many turkeys, plan on how many you’ll eat between now and the spring. Frozen turkeys keep well for five or six months, said Ruth Cyr, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Fran Rothier of Lewiston looks through frozen turkeys at the Hannaford supermarket on Sabattus Street in Lewiston on Friday afternoon. She was searching for a 15-pound bird to feed her family on Thanksgiving next week.