The economy’s continued struggle will affect millions of families across the country this Thanksgiving, taking a bite out of dinner and shopping plans.
Ally Dorsey, a second-year public relations major, said her family traditionally hosts Thanksgiving dinner at their home and opens it to extended family. Normally her mother takes care of all the preparation of dinner.
This year, it will be done a little differently.
“Since buying enough food for all of my family is getting extremely expensive, this year every family agreed to help make certain dishes to bring for dinner,” Dorsey said. “It really seems like the most reasonable thing to do.”
Nationwide, food banks are reporting more need than ever before. Some families are even thinking about doing a very untraditional Thanksgiving celebration, such as simply going out to breakfast instead of having the extravagant dinner.
Some retailers have noticed the economic struggles and are trying to make the holiday more affordable.
Wal-Mart is responding this year to the large percentage of families in America struggling to put a meal on the table this Thanksgiving by creating a new plan called Operation Main Street.
“We anticipate saving customers $200 million through the program, which discounts some of the most popular store items,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O’Brien said.
The company has been promoting its $35 complete Thanksgiving dinner for eight, including a turkey and all the necessary ingredients.
The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, typically brings millions of Americans lining up early in the morning for discounts. If you will be staying in Columbia over Thanksgiving break, many storeowners in Five Points are looking to capitalize on Black Friday business.
For example, WISH, a clothing and accessory store in Five Points, will have a wide range of deals not only for Black Friday but for Saturday as well.
Rebecca Rudzinski, WISH’s manager, said it considerably helps the economy when people shop at local stores such as WISH.
“In the past we have noticed that Five Points doesn’t get hit as hard as all the major shopping centers in Columbia on the day of ‘Black Friday.’ For this reason we wanted to extend our sales through Saturday,” she said. “It is always great when the people of Columbia can shop locally in the small businesses.”
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