Alastar:
In my case as a kid (up to 7yrs.) We lived on dad's income, where mom and dad were physically seprate, and what my older siblings could drag in mowing laws and such.
Say, under 150/wk in the 80s. 4 kids, 1 adult. Dad lived elsewhere, and worked as a beat cop. Mom dropped out of college to raise us, giving up her dreams as a multi-discipline life scientist.
We did go grocery shopping, but it was always an ordeal where we only got nonperishables, or things we couldn't grow ourselves, and scrounged for coupons on everything. Literally, everything.
Mom made our clothes for school each year, using McCalls clothing patterns, and raw cloth bought at a fabric store (now out of business) called "cloth the world".
I distinctly remember wearing shoes until they either could no longer fit on my feet, or fell apart. Whichever happened first.
After the house fire, we moved into a more rural setting, and mom landed a sweet job doing hand painting on carousel animals for Chance Rides inc. After that, things really picked up, but mom and dad still lived seperated. (Strangest thing. They love each other to death, but drive each other nuts. Go figure.)
But before then? There are people who have and/or had it harder. But we were really really poor.
But hey, I learned all kinds of crazy shit being poor.
mom had nearly finished 3 degrees in hard life sciences chasing her dream of being a paleontologist (the school didn't have a degree program for that, so she took 3 concurrent majors in botany, zoology, and and anthropology to get the needed educational backgrounds), and I got a first hand education in animal behavior, sustainable harvesting of wild food stuffs, and other cool things. That alone is something most impoverished kids don't get, often having less educated parents.
And from dad? He's an old korean war vet, where he served as a medical corpsman (prior to becoming said beat cop.)... his own unique contributions to my childhood education... mmm.. border between what you would expect to get at a terrorist training camp, and or a military field hospital. You know.. how to field dress a gaping wound, sew stiches, ....make improvised ordinance...make survival structures and knives... that sort of thing. (He really DID mean well. Wars like that make people unhinged. It's a fact. It isn't their fault.)
Between the two, I had a very "unique" experience growing up.
Lord shonus:
Wrong! For 3$, you can get 1 package of corned beef slices (like for sandwiches. Around 60 cents) a small carton of milk (1.20$is, for the cheap stuff), and some bags of frozen veggies, including frozen potatoes.
Using those, you can make a very nice pot of potato soup, with real veggies in it. Enough to feed at least 2 people.