While a survey from major national charity The Smith Family has this week highlighted cost concerns to equip children with school essentials, frontline welfare agencies in Ballarat are reporting significant pressures in demand for support.

The Ballarat Foundation chief executive officer Andrew Eales said back to school costs was a social issue before the pandemic and what was most clear in the past 12 months, coming out of lockdowns, was the widening gaps faced by people in need across the community.

"We're seeing issues such as the cost of the rental market - challenges in obtaining a property and costs in rent - and food prices going up are only serving to exacerbate a challenging environment," Mr Eales said. "The biggest challenge is breaking those cycles. Donations and vouchers are a great way to help in the short term.

"As a community we need to look at ways to change the system and support programs to help people more in the longer term."

The Ballarat Foundation, which wrapped up the city's Christmas Appeal one month ago, has been racing to start distributing $27,000 in back to school vouchers to help Ballarat families via more than 40 primary schools.

The annual distribution, in partnership with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, offers $50 Target and Kmart vouchers.

Mr Eales said vouchers made a difference in the little things young people needed to get the best start to their education.

"It's really important to a young person starting school to have things the rest of their classmates have," Mr Eales said. "This can make a big difference in self-esteem."

St Vincent de Paul Society Ballarat volunteer Alan West said back to school was about far more than stationary and uniform costs. Mr West said often adding in extra curricular activities, such as sport, could also be expensive for parents.

He said sports could offer vital skills to children, for example, the importance of swimming lessons that had been highlighted in water incidents this summer. But these all were at a cost.

"It's still very hard on families who are struggling because they - and we do too - want their kids to feel equal," Mr West said.

"When it comes to sport, things can be very expensive...there are certainly high costs. We've had an uptake in calls for help and are busy at the moment and I'm sure other agencies are the same."

IN OTHER NEWS

The Athlete's Foot Ballarat typically donates shoes each year to people in need via community welfare agencies. This summer, store owner Paul Tudorovic instead opted to gift more than 50 pairs of school shoes via Ballarat Christmas Appeal in a bid to help families put their best foot forward ahead of the back-to-school rush.

Ballarat mother-of-three Emily Wallis said back-to-school time was an expected expense each year that her family budgeted ahead for.

Knowing the pressures could be a juggle, Ms Wallis said she liked to try and direct her spending in ways that could give back to schools and other families, such as via The Athlete's Foot.

Ms Wallis said especially with three children, extra school costs such as runners and school shoes through the year could quickly add up.

The Smith Family survey found nine in 10 parents it supports worried their children would not start school with everything they needed.

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