Parents gathering back-to-school supplies battle inflation while still getting items their kids want

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) -

“There’s a lot of parents that can’t afford stuff,” explains Leona Storch why she was buying school supplies even though she doesn’t have children of her own enrolled.

The rural, North Dakota, grandma says, “I have a little extra money every now and then and I figured I might as well spend it on kids.” She says for the last couple years she’s been spending about $50-75 donating school supplies.

“A lot of them are having a hard enough time just buying groceries, let alone school supplies on top of it,” says Storch.

“When I went to school years and years ago, it wasn’t like this,” she adds.

Not only has inflation raised the prices for staple items such as food and gas, but parents are really feeling the burden as they prepare for the new school year and are buying their kids new clothes and supplies

Father of two, Roberto Lopez, says, “We just got to do our best, we don’t wanna be those parents that don’t get the kids what they want.” However, he admits, “Prices are extremely high this year, everything is a little bit higher than normal.”

While rising costs are a big concern for parents, at least some teachers and retailers are providing options to make things a little more convenient, such as in-store QR codes that link parents to the shopping lists for their students specific class room.

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