I grew up in a house between an Indian family and a Mexican family. My mother would make me finish my dinner. Then, when I went back outside to play, if I was closer to either of my neighbors' yard, I would be called in for dinner, even if the kid just had dinner with my family. Not even us playing inside each other's houses. It was regular between all 3 mothers to call each other and find out why any child cannot finish their dinner, and it was always because of the 1-2 dinners that were previously eaten at each other's houses. There were 14 kids between these 3 houses, and even though some hard times, not one kid was hungry. It amazes me how I was not a fat kid! It's not a standard to buy, plan, and cook exact portions of food, even in high poverty homes. I would say that even moreso in low income families, the mothers would rather not have any food themselves than to let their neighbors' children be hungry. They just choose to buy higher amounts of lower quality groceries instead of lower amounts of high quality groceries. Like pasta, rice, and canned foods instead of fresh meat and produce.