First, what do we mean by 'cheap'?

Consider a young Australian student, studying full time who is living out of home, the maximum they can get from Centrelink is $562.80, a fortnight. A Homelessness Australia report revealed a student like this would be left with $13 a day. This $13 would have to cover transport, utilities and food. We estimate that after paying public transport and bills, this student would have $5 a day for food! If they're an international student, there is little support available so budgets would be significantly less. 

If you consider students already have access to some basic staples like oil, butter, spices etc...cheap could be: 

• A meal that costs more than $5 but is multiple serves 

• A meal where ingredients can be foraged or rescued

• A meal where the costs are shared between friends or family