Your Thanksgiving Shopping Guide

In South City we’ll never have a white Christmas or watch the leaves change from caterpillar green to rusty orange to cranberry, but we do still crave the holiday season like the rest of America. We have our own fall indicators: Starbucks autumn beverages are welcomed back to the menu, everyone is suddenly wearing crisp coats with sturdy boots and we start noticing little white icicles of light appearing on trees around businesses.

When the air becomes brisk, our hearts warm and our stomachs start lusting after things we’d feel silly eating the rest of the year. Stuffing swimming in gravy, turkey smothered in whole cranberry sauce, melt-in-your-mouth yams topped with toasted marshmallows: South City markets are ready for you and have great deals on all the things you’re now pining for.

When purchasing your turkey, remember that the rule of thumb is to get 1.5 pounds of meat per person at your dinner table. That’ll leave just enough for leftover turkey casserole and some sandwiches for the days after Thanksgiving.

South City’s two locations have plenty of turkeys plus a variety of prepared Thanksgiving dishes, giving your oven a much-needed breather before it tackles the bird.

• Foster Farms fresh young turkeys are $0.89 per pound.
• If you want to buy organic, Coastal Range turkeys are $2.69 per pound. They are much smaller than the Foster Farms turkeys so plan on spending $35 for a 13 lb. bird.
• Costco’s huge pumpkin pies are $5.99, an excellent value for an almost four-pound dessert.
• Fra’mani has a few refrigerated sides for your Thanksgiving table including 2 packs of 26oz. turkey gravy for $9.99, a 31oz. package of holiday dressing with sausage for $8.79 and a 28oz. pack of organic cranberry sauce for $7.59.
• Also in the refrigerated section, you’ll find four-pound packages of Harry’s crème fraîche mashed potatoes for $7.99 (yum!) and 32-ounce containers of Good Foods’ sweet potatoes with a pecan streusel topping for $7.29.

’s sale prices are constantly changing throughout the holiday season so peruse their weekly mailers as they come. Also, be sure hang on to the “thru Thanksgiving” mailer containing over $100 in coupons for all the necessities.

• Safeway is offering its “Frozen Thanksgiving Meal” including a 10-pound Zacky Farms golden roasted turkey, Huxtable’s stuffing, Alexia mashed potatoes, Marie Callender’s sides, a Claim Jumper pumpkin pie, Safeway Select ice cream and whole cranberries, all frozen and all for $32.99 when you get it all in a single transaction. Look at the weekly ad for more details on this deal.
• With a $25 minimum purchase, you can get one frozen turkey at a specially discounted price: an eight to 12-pound turkey will be five dollars, a 12.01 to 16-pound turkey will be seven dollars, a 16.01 to 20-pound turkey will be nine dollars or a 20.01 to 24-pound turkey will go for $11.
• If you’d prefer a fresh turkey, Safeway Select’s are $0.99 per pound with a $25 minimum purchase.
• Eight to 16-pound Honeysuckle turkeys are also on sale for $9.99 each or $13.99 for 16.01 to 24 pounds, both requiring a $25 minimum purchase.
• Safeway Select pumpkin pies are $4.99.
• Mrs. Cubbison’s 10-12oz. stuffing mixes are on sale for $2.19 while Stove Top’s 6oz. packages are buy-one-get-one-free making each $1.50. Safeway has its own stuffing mix at $1.25 for a 6oz. package.
• Safeway brand canned cranberry sauce is $1.00, or opt for their fresh cranberry orange fruit salad in the deli for $2.99 per pound.
• Also in the deli you’ll find Safeway’s Signature Cafe prepared side dishes for $1.99 each when you buy three or more. They have cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, mac n’ cheese and baked apples.
• Del Monte’s canned green beans are $1.

on Kenwood Way has all the staples for Thanksgiving and shopping their store brand, First Street, will save you a bundle on everything from turkeys to canned green beans.

• First Street frozen young turkeys are $1.29 per pound and come in all sizes between 12 and 24 pounds.
• French’s French fried onions (part of the famous recipe for green bean casserole) are just $2.99 or opt for Smart & Final’s version, which is the same size but only $2.29.
• First Street canned green beans, also necessary for that recipe, are $0.69 each.
• Large 2lbs.8oz. cans of yams are $2.49, and even larger seven-pound cans are $6.19.
• Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce is $1.25
• If you’re serving an army this Thanksgiving, go for Campbell’s canned turkey gravy. It’s just $2.99 for a huge 50-ounce can.
• Smart & Final has freshly baked pumpkin, apple, peach and cherry pies, all for $2.99. Or, if you want to warm something up in the oven, opt for a frozen Claim Jumper pumpkin pie for $7.89 or Sara Lee’s for $7.19.

on McLellan Drive has brought out its seasonal ingredients and published its Thanksgiving edition of the Food Pilgrimager, complete with serving suggestions and a turkey-roasting chart.

• The all natural brined turkeys are $1.99 per pound, making a 18-pound bird $35.82. The glatt kosher fresh young turkeys are $2.49 per pound yielding a $44.82 bird of the same size.
• Their pumpkin tart and apple pies are $6.49, pecan pie is $7.99 and pumpkin pie is $4.98.
• Trader Joe’s brand fried onion pieces are $2.99 but you’ll have to get your canned green beans somewhere else (or use fresh/frozen ones).
• Boxes of cornbread stuffing mix are $3.99—a yummy cold-weather side throughout the holiday season.
• Their cranberry sauce comes in a small jar for $1.99.

Best Deal: has the best deal on turkeys this year, but only if it’s not too much trouble making that $25 minimum purchase. has the best deal on pumpkin pie due to its sheer size, even though has a lower price on theirs. indeed has the lowest price on French fried onions and green beans (and yams and other canned items you might be shopping for). has the best solutions for large portions of prepared sides, but not the lowest price (perhaps saving time and lowering the potential for a stressful day is worth the few extra dollars?).