Starting tomorrow, buying a package of Oscar Mayer hot dogs, a Digiorno frozen pizza or a bag of Oreo cookies at the supermarket can go a long way toward helping outfit your favorite high school's athletic teams.

For the past five years, the "Shop and Score" program has helped more than 40 O'ahu high schools — public and private — purchase uniforms for almost every kind of sport.

The program works like this:

Starting tomorrow, shoppers at any Times Super Market buying any Kraft Foods product can tell their cashier they want their Shop and Score points to go toward one of the participating schools. After swiping the customer's Times Royal Card, the cashier will then punch in a number corresponding to that school, and until Oct. 31 any time a Kraft product is scanned in, points will be added to that school's account.

At the program's conclusion, the points are added up and the schools receive their proportionate share of $100,000 to be used to purchase uniforms and equipment for their teams.

For three years in a row, the big winner has been Castle, which used its earned points to purchase uniforms for its football, boys and girls volleyball, basketball, soccer, cross country and track teams, as well as polo shirts for coaches.

"The timing was perfect," said Castle athletic director Richard Haru, noting that the Knights' football stadium was being rebuilt the past two years. "We really had a financial need."

O'ahu Interscholastic Association executive secretary Dwight Toyama said almost every school in his league must fund-raise or find other sources of income to supplement its annual state allotment for athletics.

"It may not be 100 percent (of the schools), but it's pretty close," said Toyama. "Most of them are far from being fully funded."

Uniforms are a big expense. For example, a baseball catcher's full outfit can cost more than $500. It costs more than $400 to suit up a football player, including $57 for the pants alone.

A set of basketball jerseys and shorts can cost $75 each; a volleyball uniform set is $42. "Reversible" practice jerseys for basketball are $39.90 each. Volleyball knee pads cost $18 for each set. Soccer uniforms are about $30, as are softball jerseys.

Cross country uniforms cost $22 each. And so on.

With at least 15 players on each of those teams, costs add up quickly. And while some jerseys last for more than one season, there are fixed costs that can be counted on annually.

"We're required to re-certify our football helmets and shoulder pads every year," Haru said.

The expenses for uniforms and equipment are added to already strapped budgets that must pay for coaches' stipends, special duty police and facilities.

One of the biggest strains comes from transportation. The state allocates each school's athletic department about $13,000 for transportation, but Haru said actual costs can be up to $25,000 or $30,000.

"We have to do constant fund-raising, and I'm not speaking only for Castle," Haru said. "Our (food) concession is run by 40 or 50 people — all volunteers. When we didn't have any home football games for two years, it really hurt us as far as revenue."

The Shop and Score program has helped ease the burden.

"Our community has been so supportive," Haru said. "We're very fortunate."

Although not every school has a Times nearby, alumni and supporters living in any area can designate their points to go to selected schools. Kahuku, for example, does not have a Times in its area but still finished eighth in last year's points standings.

"It's easy, and there's no extra cost to the customer, so that's the reason it works so well," said Roger Godfrey, president of Times. "The schools are always scratching for dollars, so this is a good way to give back to the community — everybody wins."

Four schools — Academy of the Pacific, ASSETS, Hawai'i Baptist and St. Andrew's — donated their 2005 Shop and Score points to University High, which lost most of its uniforms and equipment in a June fire.

Here is a complete list of this year's participating schools:

Academy of the Pacific, 'Aiea, 'Anuenue, ASSETS, Campbell, Castle, Christian Academy, Damien, Farrington, Halau Ku Mana, Hanalani, Hawai'i Baptist, Hawai'i Center for Deaf and Blind, Honolulu Waldorf, Island Pacific, Kahuku, Kailua, Kaimuki, Kaiser, Kalaheo, Kalani, Kamehameha, Kapolei, Ko'olau Baptist, La Pietra, Lanakila Baptist, Leilehua, Lutheran, Maryknoll, McKinley, Mid-Pacific, Mililani, Moanalua, Nanakuli, Pacific Baptist, Pearl City, Punahou, Radford, Redemption, Roosevelt, Sacred Hearts, St. Andrew's, St. Francis, University, Waialua, Wai'anae, Waipahu, Word of Life.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.