As Georgia Students Head Back to School, Trump and Mike Collins Have Made Everything From Lunchboxes to Notebooks More Expensive

ATLANTA, GA — As hundreds of thousands of Georgia students head back to school today, families are facing a brutal new reality: new analysis from Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation finds that families will pay close to $400 more per kid to pack lunch this school year, with prices for back-to-school necessities up 11% on average. Lunchboxes are up 27%, notebooks are up 23%, and sandwich bread is up 22%. Trump’s chaotic tariff agenda and his war of choice in Iran are driving up the price of nearly everything in a child’s backpack and lunchbox. Rep. Mike Collins supported these policies every step of the way, voting 11 times in favor of Trump’s policies that raised costs for Georgia families.

This comes on top of the $2,017 Trump’s policies have already cost the average Georgia family through the first half of 2026 on everything from gas and electricity to health care and groceries — a number that could climb to $3,043 by year’s end, according to new research from the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Climate Power.

On top of rising prices, the Republican budget bill has slashed food assistance for 1.5 million children nationwide. For families with two children in public school, losing access to free school meals could mean paying $1,890 more each school year. Nearly half of all parents say they plan to take on debt just to afford back-to-school shopping this year.

“Georgia parents are already being crushed by rising costs, and back-to-school season is making it worse,” said Mark McLaurin, Georgia State Director at Climate Power. “Families are paying this price for Trump’s reckless tariff agenda and his war of choice in Iran. Instead of fighting to lower costs, Mike Collins has rubber-stamped Trump’s disastrous economic agenda, driving up costs at the gas pump, the grocery store, and the school supply aisle. Georgia families deserve elected leaders who will put them first.“

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