I live in a poor African country, and even here, people choose to buy things instead of their basic needa being met. Meat instead of beans, alcohol, weed, cigarettes, etc. They rather go hungry and get drunk than have a lot of bland food.
There are some people who might be close to starving, but they’re a small minority.
In the US these people are virtually non-existant. Even homeless people manage to hustle over $100/day. And they don’t spend that money on food, either.
I used to run with a sketchy group of homeless people that did heroin together in NYC. Most of them were making over $100 panhandling/hustling/scamming per day. It’s probably lower in other places, though.
There are some people who might be close to starving, but they’re a small minority.
In the US these people are virtually non-existant. Even homeless people manage to hustle over $100/day. And they don’t spend that money on food, either.