K-Mart remains a saving grace for many. Your childhood doesn't sound to have been particularly poor but perhaps because you remember it fondly, now, you may be leaving out much of the hardship.
I grew up in a very poor area and the only thing that was plentiful in our house was intellect - a love of reading and learning.
Along with others, I stole empty milk bottles from doorsteps to take to the fish shop and with the penny deposit return for each one exchange them for a pattie and chips at 7 pence. Apart from bread and dripping or jam and bread, this was about our best of meals.
All of my clothes were hand me downs and I hated my underwear because it was always baggy and my tackle uncomfortably loose. My dad had some lasts and would repair the shoes we had, over and over again until there was too little strength left to do it or we just couldn't fit into them any more, As the third of 3 boys, there was an odd occasion when I might get something new in the way of clothing or shoes because there was nothing left of what my brothers had been wearing.
We had neither television nor a car and only cold water, unless we had a fire, because the fireplace had a back boiler which would heat water from the tank. For gas and electricity we had a meter that took shilling (10c) coins and if we didn't have any then the supply would cut off. Needless to say, that was a common occurrence.
The one 'luxury' we had was a 'party-line' telephone. This was the only one in the street so others would come to use it. Being a party-line meant that the line was shared with others who had a phone so it was not uncommon to pick it up and hear someone else having a conversation.
As did you, one of the best things I learned from that situation was not to be materialistic and to consider others and help where I can. I also learned to recycle long before it became a trend or issue. I still use K-Mart, have never had a 'holiday' in the sense of going away to stay somewhere and I wear and repair my clothes until they are beyond it - then, if there's anything left, I use them for workshop rags. I still have and use a duffle coat I bought in 1963 and several other items that are decades old but still useable.
So, I can empathise with your childhood experience and the ragging at school from better off children. It also bothers me that millions of people, even in the richest countries of the World, still suffer lives of privation. To me, it is a sad indictment on humanity that anyone has to live in poverty when the World has sufficient resources that it need not be the case. It is obnoxious to me that there are billionaires and millionaires and that some individuals are valued in salaries or income as hundreds or even thousands of times more worthy than others.
The notion that all men, (and women), are created equal is nonsense and those who proclaim it are hypocrites. Humanity is neither equal nor equitable and, given 300,000 years of existence as homo-sapiens, that says nothing positive about our race.
Take care. Stay safe. ☮️
