Yes Roxy I did. In fact the grubbier I got the more fun I had.
And yes it was always hunger which drove me home.
As I got older though the curfews got tighter and woe betide me if I was ever late.
Sadly these days though we daren't let the little one's out of our sight for fear of what might transpire.
This question reminds me of one incident from my childhood...My Mother had me all shined and buffed up because we were going somewhere..I sneakied off to the local pond and had a pretty good time wading and catching pollywogs. I came home covered with moss and mud and my poor bedraggled Mother flipped out. She stripped my clothes off and shoved me out the back door and squirted me down with the garden hose. It certainly didn't seem very funny to me at the time but every time I think about it now I chuckle.
...My mother always had leftover cold potatoes in the fridge.We sometimes had a hash and made with the potatoes, and onions,perhaps with leftover Ham, My mother cooked with leftovers in mind,to create other dishes with.Sometimes a large pot of soup was made and reheated for a day or 2. It always took 15 to 30 minutes to get a meal on the table. Dinner rolls were made quickly.in just a few minutes.There were no restaurants in town and there still are not.
Never had money growing up but had regular meals that I made sure to be home for. Mom could cook and bake with very little and it was good food. We played outside in all types of weather, found friends to be with and invented or figured out what games to play on our own. How lucky we were.