Holland moms respond to national baby formula shortage
HOLLAND — As a national shortage drags on, parents are panicking about being able to find enough baby formula to keep their babies fed. While the federal and state governments are working to find solutions, another group of people have stepped up in a big way.
Holland-area moms have been taking to social media to make sure no baby goes hungry. Facebook pages have been flooded with moms sharing pictures of what stores have certain types of formula while others have been trading formula and offering up surplus breastmilk.
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WOOD TV-8 reported a Holland mom donated formula to help address the shortage. Caitlin Dampier, a mother of two, had a box of Enfamil formula she wasn’t using because she’s breastfeeding.
“When you’re pregnant, you get free samples and so I thought I would just offer mine for free for mothers who need them,” Dampier told WOOD. “I kept it around in case I wasn’t able to breastfeed.”
Dampier posted on Facebook sharing that she had formula to spare. Two mothers reached out, including Holland resident Kourtney Hann.
Hann was able to connect with Dampier and picked up a can of Enfamil. Dampier left the box on her front porch with the message, “Please take only the formula you chose and tear out some coupons for yourself. My prayers are with you during this difficult time,” WOOD reports.
Hann said she was down to her last can of baby formula which lasts her about five days. Now that she has received another can from Dampier, she’ll be able to feed her 9-month-old for the next two weeks.
Another area nursing mom, Jessica Nesta Walker from Saugatuck, made a post in a Facebook group offering to donate milk to anyone in need.
“As a nursing mother, this baby formula shortage luckily hasn’t affected me,” she wrote. “However, I have a pump and if anyone has a baby in need of food, I will be happy to give some milk! No baby should be left hungry!”
Several other mothers commented on the post offering to help as well.
With formula company Abbott Nutrition and the federal government reaching an agreement, pending review, for Abbott to resume production of infant formula at its Sturgis facility, an end appears in sight for the national formula shortage.
A complaint and proposed consent decree were filed by the United States Monday. If entered by a federal court in the Western District of Michigan, it would allow Abbot to resume manufacturing of powdered formula in Sturgis.
The company would also be required to take specific measures designed to increase safety and ensure compliance with federal agencies, including retaining outside expert assistance to bring its facility into compliance with regulations.
Although production is expected to start soon, relief won’t be immediate. Abbot has said it will take at least eight weeks to begin shipping new product to stores once production resumes, the Associated Press reports.
Abbott, the largest infant formula producer in the country, issued a recall in February of several powder formulas made at its plant in Sturgis, Michigan, including Similac, Alimentum and EleCare.
With Abbot’s production limited, other formula producers have increased their production. Reckitt Benckiser, which purchased Mead Johnson in 2017 and operates a plant in Zeeland, has increased production by 30 percent, a company executive told Reuters this week.
The company has granted its plants “unlimited overtime” for extra shifts and has increased delivery frequency to stores to counter the shortage.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch. WOOD TV-8 and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland moms respond to national baby formula shortage
