We used to have rentals and once had a section 8 tenant. They got food stamps (2 adults, 2 kids). There was a taco bell around the corner, that surprising to me, accepted food stamps. These folks really pissed me off, because they played the system, barely worked, and ate out (at taco bell) much of the time, and always had plenty of name-brand sodas and beer around the house. All this while I was simply drinking water out of the hose, or when I was feeling lavish, drinking a store brand 15 cents a can soda, and having PBJs for lunch when I went to fix something that they had broken (every other week).
Back on topic, I often check on my folks, who are retired to make sure they are making ends meet. They had us over for meals during our christmas holiday, and I asked them if they were able to eat right, and how much they were laying out for food. The avg $200/mo answer shocked me and I didn't believe it at first, but dad got out his monthly ledger and showed me. $197, $210, $185, $205, and on and on. Their food is nicely spiced, home cooked, some prepared in bulk and frozen for later use, etc, but with $176 for each of them, they would have about $150 a month left over and not know what to do with it. Separately, they eat out about once a mont at a chinese buffet, or something similar, about $20 for the two of them. They do not drink alcohol. They have some trees in the back yard that provide some but far from all of their fruit. No garden anymore, but their costs would be less if they did.
All of that said, there is no way on earth we could live on that amount where we live...we are easily over $1500 a month, but that is a location issue ($8-9 bucks a pound for ground beef, $2-3 for a pear, $2.50-3.00 for a liter of milk, $10 for a pound of plain jane cheddar...etc). Because our current costs are so high, we have a future FIRE food budget of $700/mo...but I don't think we'll even use that much...probably more like $350-450 for meals at home and another $100 or so a month for meals out.
I think that $176/mo is definitely doable (son at college is in this range...on dad stamps instead of food stamps...), but you have to know how to cook and be willing to do it.
R