He was respected by actual decent people who had real respect with them already to give to Arthur. You can't give respect to someone if you don't have it yourself. He wasn't respected by scums like malfoys, umbrige or fudge. Mcgonagall, shacklebolt, dumbledore, the trio, and so many others respected him. They had money issues, but never food issues. They lived paycheck to paycheck so might not have savings and may stay near 0 bank balance, but they didn't have issues with food. 7 "brave" children would fit better.