Cutting back on back to school costs

KAMLOOPS– For kids, September usually means a new lunch box and backpack, as well as some new clothes they can’t wait to show off on the playground. But with the cost of living on the rise, many parents are looking to cut back on non-essential costs.

“I have been thinking about the budget and it’s definitely tighter this year than usual,” Sarah Ryan, who has two children, told CFJC News.

“I’ve got two going into school this year so I’m definitely trying to keep the cost down as much as possible.” Along with many other Kamloops families, Ryan chose to buy back-to-school secondhand.

“Every single day it seems that sales are increasing just because people are preparing for back-to-school,” Michelle Clark, owner of Once Upon a Child, a children’s consignment store explained. “All of our prices are super, super affordable, so a lot of people are coming and just looking for that option to stretch their dollar.”

Clark said it’s hard to tell if the boom in business is because they recently opened or if people are looking for bargains.

The used clothing store also offers cash for old clothes and toys, which Clark said has been a lifeline for some families. “People definitely come in here when they are selling us their items, they are saying they are going to go buy groceries with the money that we are giving them,” she said.

Those struggles are being felt throughout the community. The Kamloops Food Bank has seen an increased demand for its service all around. “Families, especially during September are having a difficult time,” Bernadette Siracky, Kamloops Food Bank, executive director said, adding that the Starfish Backpack program was created to combat this.

For the last seven years, the Starfish Backpack program has been feeding school children in need, and helping to offset back-to-school costs by providing a backpack full of school supplies at the start of the year.

The local foodbank expects the need for this program to increase and will be holding a drive-through breakfast fundraiser on Sept.15, at Cascades Casino.