"The fall in grocery prices is likely to help out many middle- and lower-income households deal with rising energy prices," IHS Global Insight economist Chris Christopher wrote in his analysis of the CPI data.
In part because food prices have been so restrained, the CPI has risen just 1.6 percent over the past 12 months. The BLS said October marked the 14th consecutive month of decline for eggs, meats, poultry and fish indexes.
And then there's turkey specifically. The Farm Bureau says the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner for 10 is $49.87 this year, down from last year's $50.11. The group bases its estimate on an informal survey carried out by volunteer shoppers.
The surveyors check grocery store prices for classic Thanksgiving items: turkey, bread, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie and coffee and milk. They search for the lowest prices, excluding coupons and promotional offers.
The most significant change this year was a 30-cent drop in the price of a 16-pound turkey. Additionally, the bureau reported the price of milk has fallen to its lowest level since 2009. The October CPI confirmed such drops, showing a 2.8 percent and 1.8 percent decline this year in the cost of poultry and milk respectively.
"We have seen farm prices for many foods — including turkeys — fall from the higher levels of recent years," Farm Bureau director of market intelligence John Newton said in a statement.
The Farm Bureau notes that its menu — which has not changed since 1986 — is "considered modest by some" and acknowledges that many Americans enhance their holiday meals with additional dishes.
But environmentalists are hoping Americans don't get too carried away with those extra dishes. One group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, estimates 204 million pounds of turkey will get thrown away over this Thanksgiving holiday period. The group notes that those scrapped leftovers use up many resources, from water to energy.
The group offers this recommendation: "Buy less than you think. If you're hosting anything like the average Thanksgiving dinner for 10, almost a third of that dinner will go to waste this year."
Copyright 2016 NPR.