Before when we both worked out of the house we lived close to work (did so intentionally, gave up better opportunities).

We tend to use a crock pot, put it in before work in the morning. We also will prepare the food the night before and put it in the oven at 4pm so we can eat at 5pm. It’s a lot of work and you have to give stuff up, but we think its worth it.

If I had to guess, I would relate it more to "culture of working long hours or multiple jobs and culture of traveling a far away for work every day" might be more of the cause.

Consider that in the US, wages for lower income families haven't kept up with inflation for decades. That means even when a family consists of two parents, there often isn't enough money to make ends meet, and one or both parents often end up working a second (or third) job. When you have both parents working more than 40 hours a week, are you really surprised that they don't have the energy to cook from scratch?

Even in the case of "broken" families, a mother and her children that escape domestic violence are probably still better off overall, even though it's harder for them to make ends meet. I'm sure you wouldn't advocate that they stay in a harmful environment just to maintain the family structure?

Finally, and perhaps most important, many people live in food deserts. --They don't have easy access to reasonably priced raw ingredients. In some neighborhoods, the corner store is only place for them to buy stuff, and processed foods are often cheaper than the meager selection of raw goods.

I think you're reading into GP's comment a lot that isn't there. I didn't even see a value judgment in their comment, let alone a suggestion that a mother and child subject to domestic violence should stay in that environment purely for maintaining the family structure.

Yes, because cooking costs like zero energy. The physical activity consists of standing for some 20-30 mins.