Necessities of Life (Difference between Rodents and Us)

In grade school I recall learning about the three necessities of life; food, clothing, and shelter.
When I was an undergraduate and took one of he many Psychology 101 classes that would follow me throughout my life, the options had changed. They were food, sex, and escape from pain. In what universe was this going on? Turns out, the professor was referring to lab animals. He used the term 'rats' in a very generic way. He later admitted that none of his animal experiments had been been done with rats. Instead, he used rock doves. Rock dove, by the way, is a nicer/fancier way of saying pigeon.
When I was a volunteer decades ago for the AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES they had a food bank named the 'Necessities of Life Program'. It's name is now the Vance North Necessities of Life Program, in memory of a client whose parents notated $3.5 million to the program. Anyway, I have always been a bit confused by the term. How on earth does someone know what MY necessities of life might be? It's as bizarre a notion as a total stranger approaching you at a banquet and asking you, "Do you want me to fix a plate for you?" I mean, REALLY!
So I once asked about this. I was told that there are people who used to sit at tables in front of supermarkets and ask in-going patrons if they would come out with an extra bag of groceries as a donation. The organization was smart enough to provide a list of items that might be useful; toiletries, peanut butter, cereal, canned vegetables, pasta. Not a good place for vegans who only eat organic products, but hey, what place is?
Rats are not overly concerned with clothing. Food and shelter, however, are another matter. In the wild, they find a place to build a nest; above ground, under ground, in trees, in walls, in sewers. The creatures are quite inventive once they've left the field. The same goes for food. They eat bits and scraps thrown out by humans or vegetation that grows from gardens or in the wild.
When I was on vacation last week, I was staying at a 5-star hotel. My room was on the top floor and I had a balcony that had eastern exposure onto a bay. I saw the sunrise every morning I was there. Once or twice when I went out to get ice from a machine dedicated to nothing but making ice, I noticed the food trash that people had left from their evening meal (room service or take out). I could have made two meals from some of the things that were left behind; slices of Neapolitan pizza, muffins, unopened tubs of cream cheese, butter, jam, small jars of honey. Don't worry, I don't eat the food that strangers have discarded (much like I have never had to smoke someone's discarded cigar or cigarette). But such things remind of of conspicuous consumption and the ridiculous level in which we are overfed.
One day I'll have the answer of what my own necessities of life might be.