The grove is also full of druids. Druids who, all of them, are AT LEAST 1st level spellcasters, and who ALL have access to spells like goodberry, create water (superfluous because they live on a fresh water river) and purify food and drink. So yes, the food shortage is a complete fabrication - whether it's a fabrication by Kagha in game, or a fabrication of Larian's lazy and ill-informed writing, doesn't particularly matter to me - it's a dumb and inherently flawed premise to be basing anything on in this situation.
