This is true in many countries; however, strategies would vary depending on cultural health beliefs. The focus is on helping pregnant women. Here is an example:

Short-term nutrition education reduces low birthweight and improves pregnancy outcomes among urban poor women in Bangladesh.

Food Nutr Bull

Food Nutr Bull 2014 Dec;35(4):414-21

Khurshid Jahan, S K Roy, Seema Mihrshahi, Nigar Sultana, Soofia Khatoon, Hema Roy, Laboni Rani Datta, Anjana Roy, Sania Jahan, Wajiha Khatun, Naimun Nahar, Jessica Steele

Its very true that impact of cultural health beliefs and taboos play very important role in the maintenance of optimum nutritional status, even in case of extremely underprivileged women and their families also, rather I would say its the basic cause of their nutritional backwardness. I had observed these facts when I was conducting nutritional survey at  Manikdoh, a village in Pusad Tehsil of Maharashtra State (India), with my Students. When we visited a house, in front of the house green gram brought from farms was  spread in very large quantity on a cloth for drying and as we entered house we came to know that house lady was suffering from severe protein malnutrition. We asked her and other family members that why they are not using green gram as protein source in diet, the answer we got was very surprising that use of green gram may result in gout. It was quite difficult for us to convince her and family for use of low cost nutritious food in diet. But our frequent visits in village and conduction of need based nutrition education programme, demonstrations of low cost nutritious recipes brought change in villager's attitude and after followup of one year I could notice positive change in nutritional status too.

Pregnant Poor

Canned tuna might seem like one of the few affordable choices. But since chunk light tuna is an amalgam of different types of tuna, mercury levels can fluctuate from can to can. It’s getting more common for chunk light tuna to contain much higher levels than average. - extra advice to pregnant women.

Martha C White (2014), Pregnant and Poor? Eating Healthy Just Got Harder, NBC News

Dear Ankur,

This is not exactly what you are looking for but it is a good analysis of the same topic.

http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/bs_food_poverty.pdf

Thanks for the study Joan, Leena - I congratulate you for your success, could you share the study? Vilmer, thanks - it is a good introductory literature... 

In our country, there is nearly no counseling or education for extremely underprivileged women (who are nearly illiterate). However, as it has been said "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" so what these poor families do is eating cheap food (such as lentils or beans) combined with collected edible grasses. Such food is nutritious enough & satisfies the needs. But, of course, the poor keeps waiting for some "meat" that is usually donated by charities or "good" richer citizens every few months. 

Thanks Dr Matar for the insight on your country. I feel a study on nutrient availability in these people is necessary to see if the nutritional requirement is being met in these people or not.. If it is met..they actually don't need the charity in form of food..the money might as well be diverted to a better cause. However, if not..this charity could form a basis of providing them a wholesome diet... It would always be better to make these people contribute to their welfare through self help groups. 

I have not come across any literature on dietary recommendations for extremely underprivileged women or any study on low cost balanced diet counseling and education for this group of women.

However, to come up with a dietary recommendation for this group, you must have the following information to guide you:

1. What food are available to them in their environment and which ones  they can afford 

2. The nutrient value of the available foods

3. What are the nutritional requirements of the women

4. Then use what is available, affordable, culturally acceptable to work out a nutritionally adequate diet for them.

Ofcourse the community should be involved and well educated nutritionally.