Dominique McCrary
Northeast News

Buying school supplies can be expensive no matter what grade your student is in, but thankfully there are many opportunities in the Kansas City area to receive free or reduced-price school supplies.

Online

Online shopping can seem tricky, but there are sometimes good deals that will help with saving money. Visiting these sites should help.

•Amazon.com – Like other online sites, Amazon comes with the ease of not needing to be in a physical store. When shopping on Amazon, it is best to notice when there are multiples of the same kind of product, because one option may be cheaper. Typing “school supplies” into the search bar will lead you to their Back to School page.

•eBay.com – eBay is different from other sites because of the option of bidding on items. This is a great site to look for cheaper items, and a lot of items have free shipping, but it is important to be cautious of the delivery dates, because they can be very far into the future.

Dollar Stores

Some may think that a dollar store will have low quality products, but there are plenty of items that can be picked up at a dollar store that would’ve been more than twice the price elsewhere.

•Family Dollar – Family Dollar has a variety of items, including pens, pencils, kid’s backpacks, combination locks, glue, and notebooks.

•Dollar General – Dollar General has a variety of items at a cheap price point. Stores also have school supply lists, which will make it easier to find what the student may need. Visiting the website makes it easy; they show the supply list and then will pre-fill the cart at the push of a button.

Free

For those who may not have any money to spare, there are several organizations in the area that offer free school supplies.

•Police Athletic League, August 6, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. – PAL is having a Back to School Field Day on August 6, and they will be providing school supplies, haircuts, backpacks, and sports physicals. They will have also games, pizza, and an ice cream truck. This event will be at 1801 White Ave. Visit KCPAL.org for more info.

•Reaching out to a local Boys and Girls Club, Salvation Army, or contacting the child’s school or school district are all great options for finding free school supplies. Being on the look out for local churches and organizations that are hosting Back to School events is also helpful. They often put together backpacks with school supplies and hand them out to those who sign up beforehand.