As grocery prices climb, a Gate Pā couple is showing families how to put dinner on the table when every dollar counts.

Jodie and David Turner have built an online following by sharing budget-friendly cooking videos filmed from their own kitchen, turning everyday ingredients into meals for the whole family.

Their inspiration came two years ago when they stumbled across a UK video challenging someone to cook a whole meal for £5.

Curious if it could be done here, the Turners tried it for themselves and now post the results on TikTok and Facebook.

The pair now upload regular videos featuring everything from Thai green curry mussels to simple tomato pasta, all priced under $30 for a family of four.

Cooking was not part of either Jodie’s or David’s upbringing. With no inherited recipes or kitchen know‑how to fall back on, they taught themselves from the ground up, learning through constant experimentation and a willingness to adapt.

Two years down the line, as their following grows, Jodie said they have no interest in making money from their channel and want to focus on offering practical help to families under pressure.

“We just want to help people get back into cooking and make lovely meals for your family for $30 or less,” Turner said.

In one video, Jodie cooks a chicken and vegetables, talking through the ingredients and showing viewers how to recreate supermarket-style frozen meals for less.

In another video, she puts together a chicken pot pie, an easy recipe she suggests can be repurposed for meals like chicken pot pie soup or pizza.

The couple want to make cooking feel less intimidating for families at a time when rising food costs and tight budgets are making even basic meals harder to afford.

Jodie is quick to tell viewers that her recipes are not rules. If something is too pricey at their local supermarket, unavailable or does not suit a family’s needs, she tells them to change it.

Viewers can swap ingredients, tweak components, adapt for allergies and make the dish their own using whatever is in the pantry, she said.

Beyond their videos, Jodie and David are fixtures at the Merivale Community Centre’s Kai Day, supported by Good Neighbour projects, joining volunteers to pack food bags for whānau in need.

Boxes of fresh and packaged food being prepared for distribution at the Merivale Community Centre. Photo / Zoe Blake

Jodie and David are now planning to launch a free cookbook and run cooking classes at the Merivale Community Centre, hoping to bring affordable meals into more homes.

Merivale Community Centre manager Dave Merton said demand has surged, with the centre supporting around 140 families each week in January alone.

Operations manager Jennifer Murray said the centre is struggling to keep up with the need for fresh fruit, vegetables and especially protein, which has become increasingly difficult to source as demand grows.

“Traditionally, where it used to be beneficiaries and sole parents and that sort of thing who needed an extra hand up, it’s increasingly double-income families who are really struggling,” she said.

Murray said the centre’s food support goes further when families have the cooking skills to turn donated ingredients into filling meals at home, helping bridge the gap between what’s provided and what’s needed.

Stats NZ figures show food prices rose 4% in the year to December 2025, with some basics, including milk, bread and beef climbing at more than twice that rate.

Tauranga Community Foodbank general manager Nicki Goodwin said the centre is experiencing a consistently high demand for food and grocery support, with many families simply not earning enough each week to cover basic living costs.

“Many people don’t earn enough to meet weekly expenses, and when something unexpected happens, it becomes a crisis ... often leaving families needing food support just to cover essentials like electricity,” Goodwin said.

Cheap tomato pasta

Easy $3 tomato pasta – simple ingredients, big flavour.

Among Jodie’s many budget recipes is a simple tomato pasta that she said a family can put together for less than $3.

Ingredients:

• 2 tins of tomatoes
• Pasta
• Garlic
• Onion

Method:

• In a pot, add your pasta and cook.
• In a frying pan, add your onion and cook.
• Then add your garlic and tomatoes.
• Drain your pasta and add to mix.
• Serve and enjoy.

Zoe Blake is a multimedia journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post.