Russian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature expression re food being scarce

Hello fellow Proz linguists,

I would be grateful if anyone could shed some light on the above expression. It is used by a political prisoner referring to conditions in a strict regime prison in Russia in the '80s. For more context, please see the below:

Признак "голодной" зоны в том, что на столах не оставалось хлеба. Когда люди поели, то там все чистенько, даже крошки сметались. Кормили плохо.

I thought it was likely referring to the fact that food was so scarce there wasn't even a crumb to be found in the place. But is the meaning much less figurative and simply stating that they wiped away all the crumbs?

I would appreciate any help with this! Thank you!