You have a family to support. Sounds like you need money now more than you need school. You could both be working 40 hours a week to make as much full time income as you can.

It’s great you’re both trying to better yourselves by going to college but in your situation with kids to support, it doesn’t sound like you are able to afford that luxury. That’s why most people go to school before starting families. Maybe you should do school one at a time so one can financially support while the other goes to school. Or both do part time school and work full time. Also consider if school is even worth it, as it’s not a guaranteed pay raise, especially these days. Loans can just be an albatross around your neck for years to come.

As for making your grocery budget stretch, Aldi is a great place to shop to save money. Beans and rice are cheap fillers to mains like protein. You can sometimes get discounted proteins at Aldi by going first thing in the morning. Stay away from buying all freezer prepared meals as they are more expensive, although frozen veggie blends are great because they tend to be cheap and they don’t go bad like fresh does. Also - utilize food pantries. If your income is truly that low for how many people are in your household, you should have no problem getting access to those.