You can have a society which lives in poverty, but not to the extent that children literally don’t have what to eat. The individuals who do r”l reach that point do not have to define or reflect on the society as a whole.
1: They do reflect on the society if it holds them up as a paragon of sacrifices made for societal (NOT religious) goals.
2: Why has no one told this family to get out of Kollel ASAP and feed their family, as Halacha requires?
3: If this is an isolated incident, then why is this Adopt A Kollel’s example, and furthermore, why do the richer kollel people (who can afford their needs) not help in their support? Methinks that the problem is not isolated to a few, but rather spreads across a wide swath of the kollel population in EY.
Finally, if the “poverty” expectations were to live in a tent and forage for food, then this derech would certainly be feasible. Since each couple expects an apartment, store-bought food and heat, they should expect that the derech will not work.