
Can't make ends meet
Starve to death / Be in dire (financial) straits / Live from hand to mouth

Fare la fame 
Non arrivare a fine mese
Starve to death / Be in dire (financial) straits / Live from hand to mouth

Fare la fame 
Non arrivare a fine mese
Examples
According to them they can't make ends meet, but every summer they go on a month-long vacation to the beach. What's the story here?
A sentir loro fanno la fame, ma ogni anno vanno un mese in vacanza al mare. Come sarĂ questa storia?
You don't want to eat your broccoli? Think to all the children who are starving to death with nothing to eat!!!
Non vuoi mangiare i broccoli!? Ma pensa ai bambini che fanno la fame e che non hanno nemmeno quelli da mangiare!!!
My grandfather always tells me that during the war they were really starving, and it was a big feast whenever they could have bread and potatoes to eat
Mio nonno mi racconta sempre che in tempo di guerra facevano la fame, ed era festa grande quando potevano mangiare pane e fichi