News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DATE:
 November 21, 2013
CONTACT: Katie McKenna
kmckenna@topsmarkets.com

   
150 YEARS LATER – THANKSGIVING AS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY IS CHANGING FOR TODAY’S FAMILIES AND TOPS FRIEN
Major Trends in 2013 Focus on Use of Time, Changing Tastes and Cost Savings

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. – When President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863, it is doubtful he would have envisioned how the day’s observance and its traditional meal would look 150 years later.

“Changes emerging over the past decade on how we enjoy our Thanksgiving dinners are coming into sharper focus this year,” said Mark DeFazio director of Prepared Foods at Tops Friendly Markets. “Everything from the time we spend in preparation of the actual dinner to the foods we eat are changing the total Thanksgiving experience for many of us.”

Tops Friendly Markets is helping shoppers meet every need so they can best celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. Tops sees the major trends for Thanksgiving 2013 as focusing on time, changing tastes and the opportunity to save money in the process.

Use of Time: In many families, there are people who want to spend more time on Thanksgiving with relatives and friends, participate in Gray Thursday shopping or anxiously prepare for Black Friday sales than spend hours preparing the Thanksgiving meal.

For people looking to conserve time, Tops has freshly prepared, complete turkey and ham Thanksgiving dinners ready for pick-up and easy heating and serving to up to 10 people. The traditional turkey dinner features a fully cooked 10-12 lb. Butterball turkey, mashed potatoes, homestyle gravy, cran-orange relish, herb stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and a 10" freshly baked pumpkin or apple pie.

The ham dinner provides a fully cooked 7-8 lb. Carando spiral ham with au gratin potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, escalloped apples and a 10" freshly baked pumpkin or apple pie.

Changing Tastes: Depending on what studies and blogs one reads, certain foods are more popular than others this Thanksgiving. Some say mashed potatoes are back on top over sweet potatoes and that cauliflower and kale are on the decline. Pies continue to be the desired dessert over cake, with a few recipes promoting brûléed pumpkin pie.

More changes continue in the traditional meal as more people look for organic or gluten-free food items. Organic offerings can range from pumpkin pie mix to apple sauce and using chicken broth to make a simple butternut squash risotto.

Tops also offers a 100% vegan dinner – Tofurkey Feast –featuring a roast made with organic non-genetically engineered soybeans, gravy, wild rice, whole wheat bread crumb stuffing and organic chocolate cake.

Saving Money: The average cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner continues to go up. Virginia's Farm Bureau reports the cost this year of $50.01, up almost $3 from last year, for a dinner for 10 adults that covers turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberries, a carrot and celery tray and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Those cooking at home can keep costs down by looking for sales on turkeys, hams, potatoes, onions, breads, produce and pies.

“The savvy shopper can load up ahead of time on sales and specials to make the Thanksgiving meal enjoyable from both a culinary and pocketbook perspective,” DeFazio added.

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Tops Markets, LLC, is headquartered in Williamsville, NY and operates 159 full-service supermarkets – 154 company-owned and five franchise locations under the Tops banner. With more than 15,000 associates, Tops is a leading full-service grocery retailer in upstate New York, northern Pennsylvania and western Vermont. For more information about Tops Markets, visit the company's website at www.topsmarkets.com.

 

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