FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — With one week out from Thanksgiving, if you’re stressed about how much this year’s spread will cost you, a local economist says you might not have to be.

According to University of Arkansas researcher and economist Jeff Cooperstein, inflation is cooling off.

He says this year in particular, Thanksgiving price inflation came down from last year by 3.2%. In 2022, the average was nearly $64 for a Thanksgiving meal. But this year, he expects the average price for a Thanksgiving meal to be around $61.

“The thing to me is, it’ll cost us a little less if we want to buy an extra piece of pie. We could do that or some other extra parts of our meal. So we’re spending a little bit less. Or you can just save the money and use it for Christmas presents. But, you know, as consumers, we always like it if prices are going to come back down,” said Cooperstein.

Cooperstein says 2022’s avian flu outbreak was a big reason for last year’s expensive turkey prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 5.4 million turkeys had to be depopulated because of avian flu exposure.

Cooperstein says the supply of turkeys has increased due to the turkey crop producing more, so more turkeys should be seen on the shelves this year.