Pencils, calculators, notebooks, lunch boxes, branded pens – and the bag to carry everything in. The list of school supplies for children is long and expensive.

Keydi Bermudes, a mother of three in Chelsea, estimates the cost of materials this year totaled more than $200. She supplemented the materials she bought herself by participating in raffle events at schools, which she estimates saved her at least $80. Bermudes said there were fewer materials available at the events this year because so many people went.

“Pens, notebooks, everything is more expensive to buy,” she said in Spanish.

Families are feeling the strain across the board. Nearly a third (31%) of U.S. adults who buy school supplies will go into debt to do so or have already done so, according to Bankrate’s Back to School survey. Schools also have less money for their students this year. Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, said many school districts have used up their stimulus aid from the pandemic.

Koocher said there is a significant cost to providing tablets or laptops to schools, but even paper materials are more expensive this year.

“I can say that the prices were high if you were looking for the things you would normally buy at a stationery store or a paper supply store, or even textbooks,” Koocher said.

In Massachusetts, nonprofits have long helped cash-strapped parents, but this year the situation is even worse than usual.

Alex Train is chief operating officer of the social services organization La Colaborativa. He estimates that some parents spend between $250 and $300 per child on educational materials, depending on the school and grade level.

“Currently, families are under increasing pressure to meet their children’s basic needs, whether it’s by purchasing backpacks and notebooks or providing after-school programs for students,” he said. The organization has provided backpacks and school supplies to over 12,000 children for the upcoming school year, using its own funds, donations and corporate sponsorship.

In Lynn, the Lynn Family Resource Center and other groups held an event for parents last Saturday. On that one day alone, the groups distributed 420 backpacks of supplies, followed by nearly a hundred more backpacks from parents who called in the days that followed.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in that need over the last few years,” said Olivia Grinstead, program director at the Lynn Family Resource Center.

Grinstead said that not only local residents but also new arrivals have asked for help. They are often housed in emergency accommodation while their children are enrolled in local schools.

Grinstead encourages parents in need to also contact their schools, as back-to-school events are sometimes not adequately publicized.

Teachers are also feeling the strain. Christine Mulroney, an educator for 28 years and president of the Framingham Teachers Association, said teachers receive financial support for programs and classrooms – in Mulroney’s case, about $200 to $250. But she said districts need to increase that amount.

“The money we receive from the district in no way fills the gap in purchasing the materials students need to succeed,” she said.

When teachers assist students in financial crisis, the Framingham Teachers Association also partners with the MTA’s nonprofit organization, The Massachusetts Child, to reimburse students.

“We work with the school administration and social workers in the building to identify students who are in financial crisis and may have needs (for school supplies),” Mulroney said. That could include shoes, backpacks, basic supplies and additional grants for extracurricular activities.