.
A split image showing PBS NewsHour correspondent Deema Zein reporting on the left and TikTok chef Maurice "Moe" Levene carefully plating a dish while wearing black gloves on the right.

PBS NewsHour correspondent Deema Zein reports on TikTok chef Maurice "Moe" Levene, who has built a following by teaching families how to make healthy, complete dinners for as little as $5. With grocery prices rising, Chef Moe shops at stores like Dollar General to show that eating well on a budget is possible. Photo: PBS NewsHour

This Chef Will Teach You How to Make Healthy $5 Family Dinners

June 15, 2026

This Chef Will Teach You How to Make Healthy $5 Family Dinners

Grocery prices are up and family budgets are stretched thin. One chef is fighting back on TikTok, showing millions of followers how to put a healthy dinner on the table for just five dollars. Here is how he does it and what students can learn from his approach.

Share

Share On Facebook
Share On Twitter
Share On Pinterest
Share On LinkedIn
Share On Microsoft Teams
Email
PBS News Hour Classroom
PBS News Hour Classroom
Follow

With rising grocery prices, many Americans are struggling to provide their families with healthy, complete meals. However, one chef is teaching his TikTok followers how to battle this problem through his advice on eating well on a budget, one $5 meal at a time.

View the transcript of the story.

NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?

Warm-Up Questions

  1. Who are these $5 family meal videos specifically catered for?
  2. What is the purpose of this food series?
  3. Where can one participate, if they wanted, in this meal plan created by Chef Moe?
  4. Why is Chef Moe picking out specific items during his food hunt? Why does he choose to shop at stores like Dollar General?
  5. How does this TikTok food saga help change the shame (or stigma) that people tend to have toward cheap meals?

Essential Questions

  1. Through his TikTok series, Chef Moe provides his full support toward families who may struggle with buying the needed resources to make dinner. How do his videos help reduce the shame or stigma that families may feel toward making cheap meals?
  2. What skills are needed in order to be able to successfully create a $5 meal plan?
  3. Media literacy: Read over the following infographic and then answer the questions: What goal does the chart serve? Why is an infographic useful for better understanding the concept of budgeting during grocery trips and also maximizing the amount of food that is consumed rather than discarded later on?

A "Shop Savvy" infographic from the Guelph Family Health Study at the University of Guelph offering budget-friendly grocery tips under three categories: Plan It Out, Make It Last, and Use It Up. Includes statistics on food waste and links to additional resources.

What Students Can Do

Visit the following two websites: Eating Healthy on a Budget and Nutrition on a Budget: Cheap and Easy Ways for Students to Eat Well. Focus on the benefits beyond food consumption that come from healthy budgeting during grocery trips. Afterward, answer the questions that follow.

  1. What is the general message shared by these articles?
  2. How can students contribute toward helping prep healthy meal plans while on a budget?
  3. Why is there a positive connection between better health and efficient budgeting during grocery trips?
  4. What questions do you have on tips for eating healthy while on a spending plan?
  5. When can you begin to implement these saving strategies?

Learn more about the benefits that come from food budgeting and seeking healthy cheap alternatives below:

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Want to see more stories like this one? Subscribe to the SML e-newsletter!

Sign Up Here.

Republished with permission from PBS News Hour Classroom.

PBS News Hour Classroom
PBS News Hour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of News Hour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for... See More
Advertisement

Post a comment

Log in or sign up to post a comment.