Moms turn to TikTok, each other to ease burden of high grocery prices

Moms are stepping up as high grocery prices strain household budgets.

They are doing whatever they can to help other moms ease their grocery bills – from creating TikTok channels about sharing tips on stretching meals to teaching families how to properly grow their own vegetables. Some moms are even driving families to the stores to show them how to shop on a budget.

“It takes a village to raise a child. I am part of that village,” Sharon Kilgore, a Detroit-based parent, told FOX Business.

Kilgore believes it’s her responsibility to step up and help other families in the area get the food they need.

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Despite inflation falling to the lowest level in more than three years in July, consumers are still falling victim to a rise in food pricesaccording to consumer price index data released on Wednesday. The cost of food, which has been one of the most visceral reminders of inflation for many households, rose 0.2% over the course of the month, which included a 0.1% increase in groceries. Since 2021, grocery prices have surged more than 21%.

Every month, Kilgore assists upward of 25 families with getting food and, in certain cases, cleaning supplies. Part of her duties include driving to food banks and dropping off items at a family’s home so they don’t have to wait in an hours-long line. She said she also drives families to the grocery store “as needed.”

Growing up, Kilgore said her mom instilled in her how to “make a nickel look like a dollar.” It’s a skill she uses to this day.

Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, told FOX Business that there are a growing number of parents who are also posting on TikTok about how to cook on a budget.

Many of the videos, which use the hashtag “stuggle meals” or “struggle meal recipes,” feature moms who are teaching viewers how to make a budget-friendly meal with the products they have in their kitchen, or what to shop for when they get to the grocery store.

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In one video, the TikTok user @haley_rod_ discussed how she stretches a bag of beans to last up to two weeks for her family.

“Beans make the best struggle meals they are nutritious and good for you! They are one of the cheapest sources of protein and fiber,” she wrote in the caption.

In a separate video, another woman breaks down how she bought a week’s worth of dinners at Walmart for roughly $65.

In another viral video on the platform, a woman films herself walking through a Dollar Tree store and shows how she buys three dinners for $5. The short clip racked up more than 232,000 likes and over 1,700 comments.

These videos based on budget-friendly recipes have proliferated the platform and send a clear message, according to Rodrigues.

That message is: “We are all going through a tough time, we’re going to help you with it the best we know, how to get through moments like this, and we’re all going to get through it together,” Rodrigues said, referencing the videos.

“When times get tough, we turn to each other,” she added.

Jaquetta Lee, another mother based in Detroit who’s lending a hand to families in the best way she knows how: gardening.

She believes in not only teaching families how to stretch foods, but how to eat healthily.

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To do so, Lee frequently visits farms across multiple states, including Michigan and Georgia, and demonstrates how to cook healthy meals from vegetables they can grow in their garden.

“I show people how to take something that’s unfamiliar… and show them how to stretch it and eat it,” she said.

Her goal is to help people, including children, understand where their food comes from and the importance of eating healthily. She estimated that she could show people how to make a complete meal for roughly $30.

FOX Business’ Megan Henney and Alicia Warren contributed to this report.