1966 Thanksgiving saved millions of lives

by VDC staff

By the time the turkey hits the oven and football flickers across millions of living room screens this Thursday, a small but welcome relief will already be on the table: Thanksgiving dinner costs are finally coming down.

After years of sticker shock fueled by inflation and supply-chain snarls, the American Farm Bureau reports that a traditional holiday meal for 10 will cost $55.18 this year—down 5% from 2024. It marks the third consecutive year of decline. Yet in true Thanksgiving fashion, there’s a catch: even as prices fall, they remain significantly higher than they were in 2019, before the pandemic sent grocery bills soaring.

Still, turkey lovers have something to celebrate. The price of the centerpiece bird has tumbled the most—down 16.3% for a 16-pound turkey, now averaging $21.50. Stuffing, pie crusts, rolls, and several other staples saw declines as well. Retailers, economists say, are slashing prices to draw customers through their doors. Reuters notes that deep discounting by major chains is largely behind the dip.

But like the weather and the accents, Thanksgiving looks a little different from region to region. The South enjoys the lowest average cost at $50.01. In the Midwest the dinner checks in at $54.38. But the Northeast and West will pay more—$60.82 and $61.75, respectively—well above the national average. And hidden in the shopping cart are reminders that inflation still lingers: peas, sweet potatoes, milk, and even humble veggie trays saw sharp price increases.

Still, Thanksgiving isn’t just about what’s on the table. It’s also about the stories that come with the day. And one Thanksgiving more than half a century ago served up something quieter—but just as consequential—as a family feast.

The Thanksgiving that saved millions of lives

On Thanksgiving Day, 1966, a 26-year-old New Yorker named John F. Banzhaf III sat down to watch a football game. What he saw wasn’t a touchdown. It was a cigarette commercial.

It sparked an idea—and a national turning point.

Banzhaf appealed to the FCC, arguing that under the Fairness Doctrine, broadcasters should be required to air anti-smoking messages in response to tobacco advertising. The FCC agreed. For every three cigarette commercials, stations had to run one anti-smoking ad for free.

The result was a seismic cultural moment: millions of anti-smoking messages flooded the airwaves. America learned—in prime time—that cigarettes were deadly. The campaign ultimately led to an outright ban on cigarette commercials and saved countless lives and billions of dollars in healthcare costs. The famous 1964 Surgeon General’s Report may have sounded the alarm, but it was the Thanksgiving of 1966 that kicked down the door.

The meaning of the meal

So as Americans gather around tables groaning with turkey, cranberries, pies and potatoes—some cheaper than last year, others more expensive—there’s a deeper thread connecting this holiday to the country it feeds.

Thanksgiving has always been about more than prices or pumpkin pie. It’s about the moments that unfold around the ritual: the game on TV, the family arguments and laughter, and—as in 1966—the ordinary things that spark extraordinary change.

This year, as the cost of the meal finally falls a little, it’s worth remembering that one Thanksgiving helped change the nation. And the next one just might too.