Martha Stewart has received some backlash after posting and then quickly deleting a photo of her Halloween costume -- a "hungry" poor person.

In the since scrubbed snap ... Martha appears in tattered clothes, with dirt on her face, and holding up a sign on a clipboard that reads ... "I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!"

The pic had apparently been included in an Instagram carousel promoting candles she sells on QVC before it was deleted ... but not before several IG users screengrabbed the post.

In the caption, Martha, who has an estimated net worth of $400 million, wrote ... "My QVC candles are perfect for Halloween!!!" Her accompanying poor person get-up? Not so perfect.

The post recirculated on Reddit, where scores of users were quick to slam the costume as "out of touch," "offensive" and "gross."

We've reached out to Martha's rep for comment ... so far, no word back.