NYC parents, teachers struggle to buy school supplies amid tariffs, price hikes

New York parents preparing their kids for the first day of school are finding supplies cost more than ever — an added strain on families already struggling to make ends meet.

The higher prices are a result of the 30% tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on imports from China this year, which affects nearly everything children need for school, said Brett House, a professor of economics at Columbia Business School.

They are expected to hit low-income families especially hard, coming as federal cuts reduce the amount of support they are getting for other expenses, including food and housing assistance.

Organizations that typically donate school supplies for families who cannot afford them are finding they are also stretched thinner as the number of people in need rises.

Sapreet Saluja, executive director of the nonprofit New York Cares, said the increase in costs is forcing her team to rethink its annual Stand With Students campaign, which aims to donate about 20,000 backpacks filled with supplies to students by September.

For example, the group decided to give kids looseleaf paper instead of a pencil sharpener and scissors, she said. And it is putting fewer pencils and pens in each backpack this year.

“Parents are making these incredible decisions between groceries and these basic school supplies," Saluja said.

Karen Lawson, a Southeast Queens resident who has 4-year-old twins starting pre-K this fall, said she's worried the expenses will only grow as her children do.

“The supplies that they need right now are minimal compared to when they get to elementary, junior, high school, even college. The supplies just go up,” she said. “I’m just hoping I’m able to afford that when that time comes.”

Lawson organizes back-to-school fundraising drives in her own community and is also a beneficiary of them. She said she knows kids get teased when they show up without supplies or with old or dirty items.

“I’m on lines to get different resources that my daughters need too, because the prices are getting so high," she said.

Flatbush resident Julianna Sanchez, the mother of a 14-year-old high school freshman, said she’s finding ways to extend the use of last year’s school supplies.

“This year, because of how expensive [school supplies] are, I’m actually making him reuse some of the notebooks that do not have all the pages used,” she said.

If those run out, Sanchez said she’d find a workaround: “I’ll just have to take printer paper and he’s gonna have to use it."

Sarah Yunus, a fifth-grade teacher in the East Village, said she'll receive a little more than $200 at the start of this school year from the City Council to spend on supplies for her classroom. She said she’ll try to make the money stretch, but it's never enough.

By spring, Yunus said she's typically dipping into her own pocket to provide for her students. She can ask her school for more supplies, but approvals take a long time and she often can’t wait.

“When you need something urgently, you can't wait months for something to come,” Yunus said.

The teacher said she's also reached out to parents who could afford to help — and even to her own friends using an Amazon wish list.

“Something as simple as a box of pencils can go a long way,” she said.