Alonda Guillen was in the middle of doing her laundry when she found out about the back-to-school giveaway event outside the City of Refuge Church in Port Morris on Saturday. Her child’s backpack had been missing in the mail just days before the first day of school, so she dropped her laundry, quickly dressed her kids, and rushed them to the church’s 137th Street location.
For Guillen and many other South Bronx parents, the rising costs of living are turning what should be a routine back-to-school season into a financial strain. According to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics’ annual survey, families with school-aged children spend an average of $874.68 on back-to-school shopping. This financial burden is especially heavy in Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris, where the median household income in 2022 was $32,860—about 58% less than the citywide median of $77,550—and poverty rate was 32.7%, nearly double the citywide rate of 18.3%.
“Back-to-school shopping, it’s very expensive,” Guillen, 27, said when asked what her biggest challenge was, in preparing for the coming school year. “It’s very hard on working people,” she said, noting the rising cost of food and school uniforms.
The event was hosted by the church and by the 40th Precinct Community Council. It ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., drawing long lines of families eager to receive free backpacks and school supplies. Children participated in activities ranging from roller skating to face painting, and indulged in cotton candy and popcorn.
A diverse range of community organizations had tables offering resources to parents, including Go! Sports, which provided information about its skating-based athletic programs; the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; Guns Down, Life Up, which promoted after-school programs to keep youth away from guns; Essen Health Care, which offered health guides and distributed food and bread that quickly ran out; the Emergency Mobile Thrift Shop; and MetroPlusHealth.
Charter schools Brilla Public Charter Schools and South Bronx Charter School for International Cultures and the Arts provided informational guides about charter education and admissions for parents.
Mariana Sanchez, 48, said she felt lucky her daughter is attending Neighborhood Charter School in the South Bronx over a public school. She praised the school’s high-quality teachers and enriching after-school programs.
Guillen, who has a child enrolled at Classical Charter School, agreed.
“Public schools are too overcrowded. The kids behave horrifically,” Sanchez said. “I think public school teachers are not getting the help and resources they need.”
Proposed cuts to after-school programs are a concern for Sanchez.
“That’s very painful and hurtful to hear because in this neighborhood, this is where people have the most needs,” said Sanchez, pointing out that if her daughter’s access to an after-school program were cut off, it would be “very bad. I would have to go out of my way to pay for outside child care.”
Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson said back-to-school events like this one help get parents feel confident about the upcoming school year.
“All these events fulfill our overall goal of supporting children and families, particularly around this time as they return to school,” she exclusively told the Herald. “That’s how you stabilize our families, that’s how you build strong communities, and ultimately, that’s how we invest in our families.”
However, Betty Delgado, 64, who attended to gather school supplies for her granddaughter, said elected officials use events such as these as political opportunities.
“They don’t do nothing,” she said. “They just want support for the election that’s coming. You only see them with this event.”
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