If somebody is really starting over, I would recommend a trip to a large discount house such as WalMart to buy bulk (5-10 pounds) of the following:

          rice
          onions
          pasta
          dried beans
          potatoes

Then move to another row and grab an assortment of...

          Top Ramen (13¢ a packet)
          Rice-a-Roni (99¢ a box)

Add a few jars of Classico spaghetti sauce, flour, corn meal and some pancake mix.

Make sure you have enough pots, pans, skillets. Jars and various plastic storage containers to hold bulk item and leftovers are also needed.

Tools such as cheese grater, potato masher and measuring cup must be there before you break out the cookbook.