Hunger makes hard bones sweet beans.

Severe hunger can make even normally unappealing or difficult food seem welcome and satisfying. Need changes what people are willing to eat by making mere sustenance feel valuable.

More broadly, deprivation alters standards of comfort and pleasure. What would be rejected in easier circumstances may be accepted gratefully when options are scarce or necessity is pressing.

Use this proverb to comment on how hunger or acute need makes rough provisions acceptable. It suits situations where someone appreciates plain, tough, or previously disliked food because little else is available; use it tactfully, since real food insecurity is serious.