Chulent, maybe it depends on the state. In my (“out of town”) state, a family with children making 25k-30k *would* qualify for Medicaid for the whole family and a significant amount of food stamps.
I don’t know much about it, but I understand that people in the “voluntary simplicity” movement have figured out how to live decently on absurdly low incomes, much less than most people consider adequate. Their strategies are worth looking into for frum families struggling to make ends meet.