Families across the Philadelphia region are preparing for a more expensive return to school, with community giveaways and sales helping parents stretch their back-to-school budgets. The price of a typical school supply list increased 7.7% over the past year, according to the Groundwork Collaborat ive. Experts say the war with Iran and tariffs are playing a role in the increase. In Delaware County, the Chester Upland School District co-hosted a back-to-school bash Saturday, Aug. 22, alongside the International People’s Storehouse, offering families dozens of resources ranging from health partners to barbers. More than 4,000 backpacks stuffed with school supplies, including notebooks and pencils, were given away. “That’s why we want to be here, to give this stuff away for free, so that they won’t have to worry about that,” Chester Upland School District Receiver Nafis Nichols said. Barbers Who Care provided fresh haircuts for students ahead of the new school year. “We’re here to make sure that we increase their confidence as they go back to school with fresh haircuts,” founder Kenny Duncan said. NBC10 Responds Aug 3 Tips for Managing Your Money this Back to School season from NBC10 Responds Back to school Aug 8 Philadelphia families face higher prices as back-to-school shopping begins Caring for Friends also distributed 1,500 pounds of food at the event. “It’s not just nutritious strawberries and fruit, which they know and produce is wow. Is it expensive? But it’s a little bit of fun and love for some kids, and that their parents to be able to treat them after a wonderful day,” Caring for Friends Executive Director Rosemarie McElwee said. For volunteers, handing out backpacks also meant getting to see students’ reactions as they picked their favorites. “When you give them a unicorn bookbag or some flowers, they get like, ‘ahhh!’ Yes, they get so excited. It is so cute,” said Alyssa Ullah, a volunteer and incoming freshman at Widener University. Caleef, a fifth grader, was excited about his new backpack. “I got this, it’s like a really cool green and black pattern,” he said. Parent Tyniqua Johnson said the giveaway would make a noticeable difference in her family’s budget. “It’s definitely helping me not to spend as much money for this school year. So I am very grateful and appreciative of this event,” Johnson said. Elsewhere in the Philadelphia suburbs, stores were busy Saturday as families took advantage of one of the final weekends to complete their back-to-school shopping. Many suburban districts return to school Aug. 31. In Montgomery County, fifth grader Savannah was shopping in Plymouth Meeting for supplies, including items for her locker. “We’re actually about to go into the store to go for my locker stuff,” she said. Starting fifth grade also means a longer and more specific supply list. “We have to get certain notebooks. Which we really didn’t need that last year, we only had to get regular ones,” Savannah said. Her family headed to Five Below for part of its shopping. The National Retail Federation says 48% of purchases by back-to-school shoppers are driven by sales and promotions. Nikki Bagby of The International People’s Storehouse said high prices are putting additional pressure on families. “Nothing wrong with retailers, but they can’t afford it. Things cost so much, so we want to take that burden off the bone so they can worry about everything else,” Bagby said. For families preparing for the first day of school, information on more resources, such as giveaways and discounts, can be found here. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less