Back-to-school inflation: What costs more this year?

For a lot of families, late August means back-to-school shopping, which for the past few years has meant bracing for the painful price of everyday essentials.

School textbooks and supplies have continued to increase in costs this year, and while the cost of lunch and snacks is about the same as it was a year ago, the price of filling a lunch bag has gone up dramatically compared to three years ago.

According to the latest consumer price index update, inflation in July slowed to 2.5 per cent compared to a year prior. And while that number is the lowest it’s been since March 2021, a falling inflation rate in 2024 doesn’t erase the past three years of accelerating costs.

The overall consumer price index is up about 14 per cent compared to three years ago, and that increase shows up in parents’ shopping carts — especially in lunch foods and snacks.

For the most part, there are no shocking jumps in costs this year compared to last year. Some items, including children’s clothing and footwear, have actually slowly come down in price, according to Statistics Canada.

But for at least one Toronto charity, an ebbing inflation has also been mirrored by a slowdown in donations, resulting in less support for struggling families.

Sarah Robinson, the founder and executive director of charity organization Toronto Cares, is currently organizing a back-to-school drive, raising funds to supply students in need with fully stocked backpacks.

She says she initially just wanted to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic, but her efforts grew into becoming a full registered charity. This is Robinson’s third year doing back-to-school drives — but she says it’s been the smallest year yet in terms of the number of students they’ve been able to help.

“The further we get from the pandemic, the more people forget about low-income families and how much support they still need,” Robinson says.

She says larger donations from corporations have fallen off compared to past years, and the group has only been able pull together funding for 300 children, compared to 600 last year. That leaves many families sitting on a waitlist until more donations come through.

Robinsons says it’s disappointing because of how important it is for children to feel like they fit in with their peers.

“To be able to go into school and show off your new backpack and show off your new lunch pail — that is a crucial part of their mental health,” she says.

“And that’s something that we really focus on is that it’s not just about the financial requirements, it’s about making sure these kids are feeling good about themselves when they walk into a classroom.”

The cost of food has been particularly hard-hit by inflation over the past few years. Sending a student off with a sandwich will cost about the same as it did last year – but that’s only after ingredients skyrocketed in the two years prior.

For snacks, an apple a day has become less healthy for your bank account – but bananas have remained steady in cost.

The consumer price index groups “school textbooks and supplies” into one category, which shows costs are up 3.9 per cent since last year, and 7.9 per cent compared to three years ago.

The cost of stationery in particular has gone up more than 33 per cent in three years.

Not everything has gone up though, according to the index. The cost of clothing and footwear for children has actually gone down compared to last year.

And paying for cell service and internet has also become more affordable over the past few years, with cell service in particular down almost 27 per cent compared to 2021, according to the consumer price index.

Robinson says even if prices for some things have levelled off, for many families, the inflated cost of grocery bills have eaten into what would have been left for this time of year.

“As inflation has really started to spike, we’re seeing families that might have been able to just get by a couple of years ago that now can’t afford anything,” she says. “The rising cost of all of our food has made it so that [these families] can’t afford things like back to school.”

For those who want to help out, Robinson says donating to local organizations is the best way to get supplies into the hands of families in need – and cutting back on your own costs might be an easy way to find the funds.

“If you’re going to spend $60 on a backpack, you can buy a $40 backpack and donate the other $20 to a family that could really use the support.”