I'm fortunate enough to have never been in a situation where money was tight, but after hurricane Sandy hit I kinda got the experience. Belongings in the basement were destroyed by the flood water and we were out of power, heat, and running water for about a week. We also had an electric stove so we couldn't start it up with a fire either. My sister and I just ate cold food in the fridge before it spoiled (since the fridge was basically a closet since there was no power) while my parents sorted out the mess in the basement. I don't remember them eating either.

After a few days of no power our neighbor used their gas top stove and boiled some water for us so we could make some ramen. I also remember them walking to the pizza store and ordering us a pizza (the pizza store was run by those stone ovens where a fire just insulates the oven.)

After a few more days my parents sent my sister and I to a friend's house who lived in another city and wasn't hit by the storm as hard so they got power fast. My mom and dad just stayed at home where it smelled like sewage, sorting out the mess with no power or heat.

Before coming back home a few days later once my area of the city got power again, we stopped by a school giving out rations and basically ate those until things settled. It was an eye opening experience.