You are just making an extrapolation from minimal information. You seem to be aware of this, so maybe the best way to describe your post is "being cute".
Plenty of Americans barely know how to fry an egg, plenty of others cook everything they eat.
I think the question about food is valid since the article talks a bit about lifestyle in Ohio with all the snow and not leaving the house.
HN also has lots of articles about nutrition and exercise, etc. So I think some of us would love to know if these guys were head down coding surviving on soup for months because they were in the zone.
It's Ohio, not Antarctica. I've lived here my entire life and cannot remember EVER being "snowed in" so bad that I couldn't make it to a store to buy food. Sure, you might stock up on canned or frozen food so you don't have to go out, but it's not like you're physically or mentally snowed in from Dec-Mar.
As a cheap-ass student I survived on soup. A can of soup is a bit over a dollar for the kinds that have stuff (veggies, pasta and meat) in them, you can heat it up on a stove and have a "meal" ready in a few minutes.
I wouldn't have qualms about doing it again. It was probably more expensive than buying fresh, but the time investment was low, it tasted way better than any frozen dinner, and it was way cheaper than doing any takeout.
Sure, but being slightly ironic about it, there is plenty of middle ground between asking for an expansion of what was meant there and making it a question about "American culture".
Plenty of Americans barely know how to fry an egg, plenty of others cook everything they eat.