Thanks for the analysis.

If it is simply a matter of getting calories, carbs, and protein into a human gut at the lowest cost, the freegan is going to win, dining on dumpster sushi or roadkill. If we are going to be at all realistic, the solution is going to have to at least appear to be a meal, even if it's not something you would want to eat three times a day.

thundara, you picked the very cheapest staples, and nearly half of your menu consists of a bowl of rice. Most people see these as ingredients, not food.

And while "appetizing" was not among the criteria, availability was, and there is a considerable opportunity cost difference between a stop at Mickey D's and a $90 internet order, secure delivery, sanitary storage, cooking, and cleanup. This is, I fear, a stretch for many of the people who see the Dollar Menu as a boon, and can't afford to lose sleep over potato monoculture.

kleinbl00, if we don't consider ingredients whose prices are distorted by government interference, we will be reduced to eating dandelions from the backyard. The soy in that brown powder you advocate is heavily subsidized, and Amazon's tax break is almost double that of McDonald's, according to the source for the article you cited.