U.S. grapples with baby formula shortage

Supply crisis, safety recall force parents to swap, sell leftovers

A baby formula shortage in the United States is driving parents to swap, sell and offer leftover supplies to each other, while U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with manufacturers and retailers Thursday about the plight facing families.

The Biden administration plans to monitor possible price gouging and work with trading partners in Mexico, Chile, Ireland and the Netherlands on imports, even though 98 per cent of baby formula is domestically made.

The problem is the result of supply chain disruptions and a safety recall, and has had a cascade of effects: retailers are limiting what customers can buy, and doctors and health workers are urging parents to contact food banks or physicians' offices, in addition to warning against watering down formula to stretch supplies or using online DIY recipes.

The shortage is weighing particularly on lower-income families after the recall by formula maker Abbott stemming from contamination concerns. That recall wiped out many brands covered by WIC, a federal program like food stamps that serves mothers, infants and children, though the program now permits brand substitutes. The Biden administration is working with states to make it easier for WIC recipients to buy different sizes of formula that their benefits might not currently cover.

Parents, particularly moms, are using social media to bridge the supply gaps. Ashley Maddox, a 31year-old mother of two from San Diego, started a Facebook group on Wednesday after failing to find formula for her five-month-old son, Cole. “I connected with a gal in my group and she had seven cans of the formula I need that were just sitting in her house that her baby didn’t need anymore,” she said. “So I drove out, it was about a 20-minute drive and picked it up and paid her. It was a miracle.”

She said there was already a stigma attached to being a non-breastfeeding mom and that the group has become supportive. “To not be able to have that formula, it’s scary,” she said.

‘‘ To not be able to have that formula, it’s scary.

ASHLEY MADDOX MOTHER OF TWO