I absolutely understand where you're trying to come from, but I think it seems like a bit of a stretch. Saying lack of time to prepare a healthy meal is a valid reason for poor eating habits is a weak excuse. Pan frying an egg and some veggies (using food item examples above) takes less than 5 minutes.
So we are going under the impression that this person is homeless? Renters/home owners would have ovens, simple cooking equipment. If the person doesn't have access to ANY of those things - there are bigger issues than food.
From the article she had an apartment years ago, but due to rising rents and stagnant wages over the years in the same area now she lives with in her boyfriend's parents' home and she and the boyfriend contribute rent back to the parents. I imagine part of it is her schedule is not the same as anyone else in the home, also due to her dietary needs, so possibly if she cooked it would be a lot of single serving meals/cooking.
It’s really common in some places to have underserved shelters. In nyc I was considered super lucky to have a stovetop with an oven. Also, subsidized housing has been historically undercared for.
also, covered under 3(selecting -> fresh produce lasts from 1-28 days, so one has to shop often for some items, constantly manage, plan and cook and note inventory and refresh, her struggles to just make ends meet and stay awake just makes this sound impossible. If I were working full time, there's very little chance I would be eating/cooking as well as I know I should without using money to just buy meals, the work/commute part of the day would wear me out and I'm in a much better position than her.
If you work there, it is. But I was talking about Taco Bell for non McDonalds workers, which IS cheap.
Your groceries list again is assuming there is enough time(and energy) to prepare the food.