FedUpinOR - I wrote a reply to your comment a moment ago, thinking a bit about how to do this with a large family, and then I did some more hunting and was able to find some links to videos I had watched before that I think could be helpful. The "Feed 10 people for $3.90" is centered around white rice and a bit of egg, plus leftover veggies or whatever you can find to toss in - I watched the video, and fixed this one day, just to try it out - I could live on this if I had to, not bad. And it is cheap. Kids can be picky, but if they are hungry, they will get over that. I get the concerns about storage space, but you may be able to find more space than you think if you look around carefully.

Feed 10 people for $3.90 https://www.cukierski.net/blogs/news/feed-10-people-for-3-90

Wendy's list of foods https://www.cukierski.net/blogs/news/my-list-of-items-to-have-on-hand-asap

21 Forever Foods https://www.cukierski.net/blogs/news/21-forever-foods

7 things worth more than gold after it hits the fan https://www.cukierski.net/blogs/news/7-things-worth-more-than-gold-after-it-hits-the-fan

Beginner's Pantry List (I will say, I found her hard to listen to because some of it is unnecessary chatter, but she did have some good ideas, and I did listen to all of it and used some of her ideas) https://www.cukierski.net/blogs/news/beginners-pantry-list

Great Depression Survival Tips https://www.cukierski.net/blogs/news/5-great-depression-survival-tips