The homeless family of 7 that has been living with me since the first of July, and that will be here through the end of August, never seems to have a problem feeding itself or driving around. There's one working adult and 6 kids (well, we're down to 5 so I suppose it's now a family of 6).
Here's how they do food.
1) Get fast food for the whole fam' damly at least once a day. Make sure to go driving around in the car for at least half an hour with no clear direction, because it is Something To Do. (Taking out the trash or cleaning up after the kids would also be Something To Do, but then there wouldn't be the highly artistic pile of dirty diapers from the kid who's about to turn 4 but who isn't potty trained). It's very important to have a hundred-dollar-a-week fast food habit because that's all you've trained your kids to eat.
2) Even though healthy, real food is being provided for you, make sure to get a bunch of prepackaged, highly processed stuff every time you go for groceries. Leave the half-eaten stuff and the seeping drink containers randomly around the house, especially on top of wooden tables right next to a coaster. Make sure to avoid stepping into the kitchen or dining room when eating, because if you eat in the places that are designed to have food in them you won't be able to get that characteristic stale-food stench in the bedroom.
3) Thou Shalt Not walk to the grocery store half a mile away. That's fine for your host or hostess, but you've got More Important Things To Do because working 20 hours a week is just so strenuous.
4) When you get packaged food, open it immediately even if you've already got a jar or package of something else open. Make sure to have at least six or seven bags of "chips" open at the same time. Leave these lying around wherever it's convenient because insects are gross but you're incapable of understanding the relationship between food and insects. Besides, if the entire bag or package is spoiled, it's an excuse to throw it out and wail to your host that you need to buy more. [Edited to add: this is why it's best to pay more per unit to buy small packages.]
5) Make sure to carry food through the house no matter how many times your host or hostess asks you not to, so that it spills. Don't clean up spills because grinding your chips or your McCrap into the carpet is a vital part of your unique cultural heritage. It contributes to that homey sty-like aroma your host's house lacks, and it also guarantees that you won't have leftovers.
6) Make sure each of your kids has at least two or three foods they refuse to eat, and cater to them constantly so that they never have to compromise by trying something new or having a vegetable or fruit that isn't exactly what they want, when they want it. This will ensure that you (or, more accurately, your host or hostess because you're Too Busy) must prepare two or three meals at every sitting because somebody goes into a snit and refuses to eat the same food they demanded a week before.
7) Have a giant laundry list of different foods you "need" immediately, but don't express an interest in any of them until after they've spoiled
8) Make mouth noises about wanting fresh fruit and vegetables, but make sure that only one or two servings get used and the rest is thrown away. When you eat an apple, take just one or two bites, throw the rest out, and in a few minutes when you're hungry again, take another one.
9) Leave food in the most inappropriate possible place so that it spoils. Dairy, meat, and perishables must be left out on the kitchen counter. "Grease", or what the rest of the world knows as cooking oil, must be left in multiple pans on the stove so that it spills and stinks. Leave bottles and bags of bread open so that the air can get in. Cram empty or nearly-empty containers into the fridge instead of using smaller containers or throwing out things that spoil. [Again, here is the benefit of small packages. You're going to do your best to let the food spoil instantly anyway, so since you're only going to use things that are freshly opened and throw the rest away, why get a large container?]
10) All older children and adults must cook for themselves. Never, ever prepare a meal for the whole household because it's a mortal sin for more than one or two people to eat at a time: you can clutter up the kitchen far better if there's constantly someone in it, because that provides an excuse to never sweep or wipe up. This also ensures that there's plenty of food to be thrown away because eating leftovers might be fine for your host or hostess, but it's beneath you because you're superior.
11) If by chance you use something and put it away because your host or hostess is on your case again, make sure the lid isn't on. Lids aren't good for anything anyway: every jar of mayonnaise or bag of rice ought to be single-serve, so when you put the rice in the cabinet or the condiments in the fridge, balance them precariously so that they tip over and spill the second the door is open. You need spills in the cabinet and the fridge to booby trap your host or hostess for lulz, because they just don't appreciate you or your unique culture enough. You're also trying to train them to not be so unreasonable as to ask you to put away what you use. It's far more culturally appropriate to pile your food up on the counter.
12) Never, ever, ever finish a bag, bottle, or box of anything. Use just a couple slices of bread and leave the rest to dry out in an open bag. Take a bottle or can of processed drink, open it, take a couple of sips, and then either spill it or leave it sitting around. A few minutes later, repeat with a fresh can or bottle. If you've got two cases of, say, crackaroni, make sure to open and use at least one box out of each, so that you've got two open cases cluttering the place up. It's important to pile the clutter high so that there are several layers of everything. That will maximize spills and wastage.
In closing, this is how homeless families with large numbers of children like to cook and eat. I'd suggest that it's unique to this family, except having been in several other apartments or homes of people in this social class I've got to say that the way these folks try to live while in my home is pretty much par for the course for them. Food is free (when I'm not providing, there are food stamps) and so there's no incentive to do anything but waste. They're moving out at the end of the month, which is when I expect to hear a bunch of bitching and wailing about how the mother hasn't been able to save anything at all. She's lucky I don't give her a bill for all the stuff her kids have broken or damaged.
Why have I tolerated this? My goal was to get my daughter to value life in an organized household and to appreciate how much work goes into taking care of kids or teens. She didn't, before. Despite having been raised as an enabler, she was too willing to sacrifice her own interests even when she was pulled out of an enabling environment. That sort of thing can't be allowed in a child, but when the child learns only through experience, it's best to let them have a small taste of the experience under controlled circumstances. It took a brief voyage into Pig-istan, a couple months of her working like Cinderella, and massive destruction of her clothing and belongings before her disgust and sense of being used hit critical mass. She's within inches of developing a sense of self-worth, because her house guests are starting to treat her the same way they treat me: good enough to use, but not good enough to invite to the party. So that's why I'm allowing my daughter's couch-surfing friend and associated munchkins to do this to my home: to permanently turn my daughter off of enabling behavior along with disorderliness, chaos, waste, and bad smells. It's working.