The Tough Choices Guardians Face
Back to school has always been a busy season. Lists go up, supplies get bought, and families do their best to get kids ready for the first day. But what used to be a quick trip to the store has turned into one of the most stressful times of the year for parents and guardians.
The numbers say it all. Families are now spending hundreds of dollars per child on supplies — notebooks, calculators, uniforms, shoes, electronics. It’s not just pencils and paper anymore, and the costs keep climbing. What used to feel manageable now feels like another monthly bill.
For guardians, that often means making tough calls. Do you buy the calculator the teacher asked for or cover groceries for the week? Do you replace shoes that still kind of fit, or keep the lights on? Do you send your child to school with everything on the list, or make sure the fridge isn’t empty by Friday?
These are choices no parent should have to make, but so many are.
Back to school should be a fresh start for kids: new classrooms, new possibilities, a sense of confidence walking through the door. Instead, for many families, it comes with sacrifice. Parents are stretching every dollar, juggling priorities, and carrying the weight quietly so their kids can feel included and ready to thrive.
That’s why the “business of back to school” isn’t really about what’s on store shelves. It’s about what’s happening at kitchen tables, where guardians are making do with less and deciding between two things every child deserves: the supplies to learn and the food to eat.
At the Ben Curtis Family Foundation, we see those struggles up close. That’s why we partner with schools and communities to take one worry off the list — making sure kids have food to get them through the weekend. When families don’t have to choose between backpacks and meals, kids walk into school with a better chance to succeed.
Back to school shouldn’t just be about stretching budgets. It should mean every child has what they need, in the classroom and at the table.
Become a Champion
Do you want to get involved in the fight against the childhood hunger in Northeast Ohio?
Get in touch with our team. We are always in need of volunteers, donors, sponsors and community partners to help us fulfill our mission of alleviating child hunger in our community.
