As families prepare for the new school year, the rising cost of school supplies is hitting both parents and charitable organizations hard.
The Ozaukee Food Alliance, which has hosted an annual back-to-school fair and giveaway for a decade, has seen its supply costs nearly double this year.
Watch: Charities feel the brunt of school suppply price increases:
"Normally, we spend about six to seven thousand dollars, and this year, it was about $12,500 for all the school supplies," said Andrea Acosta, director of the Ozaukee Food Alliance.
The additional cost accounts for both an increase in expected families served at the fair as well as a decrease in donations, like backpacks usually supplied by other charities.
The organization had to pay the increased costs out of its own budget, not knowing if it would be reimbursed. A local bank later offered to cover the additional expenses after the charity made a plea on social media.
Parents like Alex Engel, a father of two who works at the food alliance, are also feeling the financial strain.
"You can see the prices have risen a bit, and it's caught us all off guard a little bit. But we're making due and we're doing what we can," Engel said. "The worst part about it is I had to keep reminding [my son], we have to remember how much we can spend."
The charity partners with other local organizations like Family Promise to provide free school supplies to families in need. The event is typically funded through donations, but this year required significant organizational funding.
Acosta said distributors warned them early about price increases and advised ordering supplies ahead of schedule. The reason given for the cost surge was expected tariffs on foreign goods.
"We were very fortunate that our distributors reached out to us ahead of time to let us know about the prices going up, how we need to order early," Acosta said.
Despite the challenges, families and organizations are adapting to the new reality.
The back-to-school fair will be held Saturday at the Ozaukee Nonprofit Center in Saukville. Registration closed Wednesday, but the Food Alliance says they may have extra supplies leftover afterwards.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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