In Rochester, families are scrambling to acquire last-minute supplies for back-to-school shopping, but many are finding the costs to be significantly more than anticipated.
Back-To-School Shopping Supplies (Photo: The street)
Inflation on Back-To-School Shopping Supplies
Inflation of Back-To-School Shopping in the United States has increased from 1.4% to 3.2% since the start of 2021, and while it has decreased over the past year, it has resumed a minor upward trend since last month.
The average cost of school back-to-school shopping supplies for a single home has climbed by about $200 over the last five years, from $696 to $890, according to Statista.
We spent about $200 on back-to-school shopping supplies for my three children, who are enrolled this year, according to Andrea Juhasz. Just a few years ago, “We would probably spend around $50 a kid, so it’s definitely gone up quite a bit.”
In addition to price increases of back-to-school shopping supplies, shelves at shops all around the country are nearly empty due to the increasing demand for back-to-school shopping supplies as the start of the school year approaches.
As soon as the back-to-school shopping supplies were available in June of this year, Juhasz recalled, “We went school shopping.” By August, the shelves are typically empty.
Back-to-school Shopping Has Had an Impact On Everyone
With backpack drives and collaborations with community and nonprofit organizations, teachers and schools have helped in the search for and distribution of materials, but rising costs of back-to-school shopping have had an impact on everyone.
Thankfully, some families have managed to do so with the help of school districts, who have supplied lists of essential goods for families to use when back-to-school shopping.
According to Sharma, “From my district, they do a pretty good job,” adding that both online and in-person availability has been excellent. “We combined online research with trips to other locations to buy back-to-school shopping supplies.”
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