For generations, Sara Long’s family in Waterville has celebrated Christmas with a traditional Lebanese feast.

It’s their annual big-splurge meal. But this year, rising food costs and general economic pressures will make their table a little less bountiful.

They usually cook generous servings of kibbeh, stuffed grape leaves and cabbage rolls, enough for the 16 or so family members to take home plenty of leftovers. Long expects to pay at least 15% to 25% more for the ingredients they need — including particularly pricey items like extra-lean ground sirloin and pine nuts — so they’ll scale back the size of the spread, likely leaving just enough for the one meal.

“When my great-grandparents came to this country, they assimilated quickly,” Long said. “But the one thing they continued to do was to make Christmas dinner our cultural celebration of the year. So for us to have to pare back on it is hard. It’s not only that the food costs more, it’s that people have less to spend because everything else costs more.”

Long is one of many Mainers who have been forced to rethink their holiday meal plans this year because of budget crunches. Food prices have increased nationally as much as 4% year over year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While that rate of increase is actually lower than in recent years, grocery prices are still up 27% from February 2020, before the pandemic struck.

Amir Mousavian, a professor of supply chain management at the University of New England, said Maine’s food price increases generally fall in line with national averages. But other factors, like stagnant wages, are also at play.

“Consumers are still feeling the cumulative impact of several years of elevated food inflation,” he said. “Even if inflation is moderate, many households feel the squeeze because wage growth hasn’t always kept pace with rising prices, reducing real purchasing power.”

‘A STRUGGLE FOR FOOD’

Long’s family was fortunate enough to win a turkey in a raffle in November, but they had to flesh out the rest of their Thanksgiving meal with ingredients from area food pantries. “That’s not something we’ve ever had to do before,” she said.

Like Long, Megan Newsome and her family in Lisbon had to rely on area food pantries for their Thanksgiving meal this year, in part because her SNAP benefits have been reduced. “Times are rough right now, so we utilized what we had to,” Newsome said. “And we’ll probably be doing it again for Christmas.”

Newsome lives with seven other family members, including her son, parents and siblings. She said special Thanksgiving and Christmas meals aren’t the only pressure points these days.

“It’s definitely a struggle for food regardless. Toward the end of the month, we definitely utilize the food shelves and programs at area churches.”

BUDGET-MINDED MEALS

Raychel Ward, of Livermore Falls, is a paid advocate and stay-at-home mom with three home-schooled kids. She and her husband, who works in IT, usually take their family to her parents’ home in Caribou for Christmas dinner. They’re staying home this year to save on travel costs.

The Wards did drive to Caribou for Thanksgiving. But while they customarily split the cost of the meal — for about 20 family members — evenly with Raychel’s parents, the entire family chipped in this year. The Wards’ Christmas meal is also going to be more budget-minded than ever. “I know that whatever we end up doing is going to be born out of what’s already in the pantry,” she said.

To cut costs, Ward scrutinizes prices at area markets to find the best deals. She’s found significant savings on produce — she estimates at least 50% cheaper than Hannaford or Walmart — at a nearby Amish market, Pastor Lane Farm Market.

Ward also now cooks from scratch as much as possible. “When costs started increasing, one of the things we saw increasing most rapidly was the cost of food,” she said. “So we looked at ways to cut corners and do things cheaper. You’re paying $1.50 for a loaf of sandwich bread at Walmart, when you can make a loaf of bread for 26 cents.”

THE BENEFITS OF SCRATCH COOKING

Mousavian doubts that overall food prices will drop significantly in the near future, even though some food tariffs have been lifted. “Inflation has eased from its peak, but many upstream costs — like labor, transportation, energy and agricultural inputs — remain elevated, so prices are more likely to stay steady or continue rising modestly in 2026,” he said.

In the meantime, some Mainers are finding that measures like cooking from scratch have benefits beyond cost savings.

Diane O’Hara, of Litchfield, taught herself to make her own jams, jellies and pickles this year to save money. She also learned how to make cheese and bake crackers, and to make ladyfingers for her homemade Christmas tiramisu.

“Just those small changes can make for big savings overall,” she said.

At Thanksgiving, O’Hara and her husband usually have 12-15 guests for dinner. This year, about half as many attended, with more far-flung guests begging off because of gas prices and travel costs.

But those who came also taught themselves a few new tricks in the kitchen. One learned to bake dinner rolls, one brought sweet potatoes with homemade marshmallows, and another made her first pie, complete with scratch crust.

While it takes more effort, O’Hara and her guests know the end result can also be tastier and more nutritious than premade, store-bought food.

“Because of the creativity of our guests, I think this Thanksgiving was one of the best we’ve had,” she said.