As for what individuals can do in the face of economic hardship, it is all about money management. It is not necessarily about "eating less" as OP puts it but a general management of whatever amount of money you earn or can earn. It could be cutting extra costs (eg. a bad habit like smoking could be quitted), it could be taking up more shifts or doing an extra work to earn a little bit more money, and of course it could be investment so that you are not bag holding fiat that keeps losing value.
This is where most people have problems; they channel the blame on low resources instead of tackling those unnecessary wants they spend on and focus only on their basic needs, which is what can give them a healthy life.
Someone can still earn a small amount of money and live well compared to someone who is earning a lot with much higher expenses, which ordinarily are not necessary, and the more people earn, the more they will increase their expenses, which is one of the reasons why they don't have savings.
One thing is to earn money; the ability to manage it properly will determine what that money can do for you.