Rising School Supply Costs Strain Budgets; Impacks Aims to Alleviate Burden with Affordable Kits

(KNSI) – The cost of school supplies is taking a bigger bite out of family budgets.

Parents are learning the hard way that rising prices are hitting everything from pencils to calculators. Data from the National Retail Federation shows that a typical family will be paying $141.62 per child compared to five years ago when supplies averaged $117.49. That’s a 20.5% increase.

Impacks CEO Clare Richards, a Waite Park-based school supply distribution company, told KNSI News that the total doesn’t include clothing or technology. “$140 for one student. Well, if you have three or four kids, that really adds up. And to have all of that expense come during one month in the summer can really, truly be a burden.”

Richards co-founded Impacks to help families affordably prepare for the school year. She says the company hasn’t been immune to higher prices. “It’s definitely hit our bottom line as well, but we work really, really hard to drive down the cost for parents. I think our average kid is still in that 50 to $60 range for most of our schools.”

Impacks offers pickup during open houses, or, starting this year, parents can opt for home delivery. The Impacks boxes are only available to families whose schools are in the program.

While it’s too late to order for this year, Impacks is partnering with the United Way of Central Minnesota to collect donations to help buy supplies for underprivileged students. For every five school supply kits donated by the community, Impacks will throw in one free. Donations will be accepted until August 22nd.

Impacks launched in 2020, working with just a few local schools. In the time since, they’ve grown across 16 states, and we have over 200 partners.

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