"If this is your first time being poor..."

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Reema Khrais** (0:30)
Hi, I'm Reema Grace, and welcome to This Is Uncomfortable, the weekly show from Marketplace about life and how money messes with it. You know, I saw this stat the other day that kind of surprised me, but I don't know, maybe it shouldn't. It said that groceries cost about a third more than they did about seven years ago.
And it made me wonder what that's actually changed for people. Like what's something you used to toss into your cart without thinking, and now you just don't.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:56)
I'm not buying avocados because the price of them is just too ridiculous now.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:01)
I just don't buy fruit anymore except for mangoes.

**SPEAKER_5** (1:03)
I buy like a bunch of pre-made food, which is kind of like not probably that healthy. It's not that good. I don't feel good eating it, but then it's just like you have to make do.

**SPEAKER_6** (1:12)
I'm skipping out on eggs, definitely, because they're expensive. They're like six, seven dollars a carton, and I just, I can't pay that much for eggs.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:22)
I used to eat like chicken, broccoli, and sweet potatoes every day, and now I just eat rice and broccoli and sweet potatoes, because chicken is like eight dollars.

**Reema Khrais** (1:32)
Those voices you just heard were Tom Stafford, Isabella Ramirez, Zynga Belaris, Anthony Stella, and Wayne McMillan. We talked to them in New York.
A lot of us are making different choices at the grocery store these days. I know I am. But for some people, it's not just about deciding what to leave out of the cart. They're figuring out how to make the cheapest groceries last through the week, or how to stretch whatever is left in their pantry into dinner so they don't go to sleep hungry.
Our team has noticed this growing corner of the internet where creators are making videos for people in those positions. Their message is essentially, I know it's getting harder to feed yourself, but here's what you can make with what you already have. One of those people is a woman named Kiki Rough.

**Kiki Rough** (2:14)
I'm Kiki, and I use historic recipes to keep us all fed because even though everything's on fire, you still need to eat.

**Reema Khrais** (2:21)
A while ago, Kiki filmed herself while whipping up a quick recipe. The kind that you make when your fridge is practically empty and you're just trying to make something. She posted it online, called it a recession recipe, and it blew up.
Our producer, Alice Wilder, started seeing Kiki's videos in her own feed, and she wanted to understand why they were striking such a nerve. So she flew out to Indiana where Kiki lives and spent some time with her. So this week, I'm chatting with Alice about Kiki's story, why her videos are resonating with so many people right now, and why Kiki herself is still struggling to feel financially secure, even after going viral.
Hey, Alice. It's nice to have you here.

**Alice Wilder** (3:02)
Hi, Reema.

**Reema Khrais** (3:04)
I'm excited to hear more about the story. So let's just start from the beginning. When did you first start noticing these surviving on very little recipe videos?
And how does Kiki fit into that?

**Alice Wilder** (3:13)
Yeah, I mean, I spent too much time on TikTok, and I also find a lot of recipes on there. And so I think I get a lot of cooking content on my feed. And I noticed I was getting more and more videos from people who were sharing recipes about basically how to survive on very little money, and Kiki was one of those videos.

**Kiki Rough** (3:31)
If you're looking for a dinner that takes two seconds to throw together and is incredibly filling and versatile with whatever you got in the kitchen, you are in the right place. If you're not sure what to do with your pantry odds and ends, that's all right. Whatever you got, put in the pot, and I'll show you some substitutions as we go. You deserve to have food that tastes good too. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.