Lane County community steps up to help during nationwide baby formula shortage
A nationwide shortage has led families across the country to store after store in search for formula to feed their babies.
"I can't emphasize enough, as a new parent myself, how debilitating the situation is for a lot of our community members," said Jason Davis, Lane County Public Health spokesperson. "When you run out, call your circle of friends and they're out too, what do you do? Your baby is hungry."
The crisis was triggered by the safety-related closure of Abbott Nutrition's formula-making plant in Michigan in February. Supplies dwindled and eventually led to federal intervention. At one point in May, 43% of popular formula brands were sold out across the country.
So far, Lane County Public Health has not seen an uptick in the number of malnourished babies at local hospitals, but some families are panicking.
Recently made Facebook groups in the Lane County-area have responded to the overwhelming need. One group, called Formula Finders DC Oregon - Roseburg Eugene Medford Coos Bay, regularly shares pictures of empty or filled shelves of formula in grocery stores. Parents and caretakers have shared pictures of specific brands they're looking for because their baby is in need of a dairy-free, hypoallergenic or otherwise specific milk.
Pediatricians have advised against informal or internet-sharing of breast milk, citing concerns over contamination or exposure to medications, but milk from regulated donor banks is an option for some parents.
Several nonprofits and public health agencies also are stepping in to help families feed their hungry babies.
Northwest Mothers Milk Bank, the only nonprofit human milk bank in the Pacific Northwest, reported about a 300% surge in people wanting to donate during the formula shortage.
The organization accepts breast milk donations after donors pass health screenings and undergo blood tests. They then pasteurize and test the milk at their Tigard facility before distributing it to hospitals and families in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. They prioritize providing donated milk to vulnerable populations such as premature infants.
In Lane County, children's store My Little Children on Coburg Road is responding to the need by providing a space in the store where people can donate formula they have and take the formula they need. Weeks ago, store owner Alice Harless noticed more people coming in to the store for formula. The store sells new and gently used baby and children's items such as clothes, toys and furniture.
The store doesn't usually take formula or opened packages of diapers, but Harless decided to start building an inventory of donated items that people in need could have for free.
"We immediately started getting calls," Harless said. "We've had several calls with mothers in panic mode … It's the fear of not finding what they need."
Davis, with public health, said all parents who need help navigating the shortage can call Lane County WIC for support and advice, even those who are not low-income and aren't usually clients of the program.
"A lot of (WIC) services are not income-based," Davis said. "We have breastfeeding specialists, we have nutrition specialists, all kinds of people who can look into your specific situation, the age of your baby, the health of your baby and pursue some solution."
Those with questions about switching the kind of formula they use to feed their babies or formula alternatives should consult their pediatricians or WIC.
Lane County WIC
Phone: 541-682-4202
Email: WIC@lanecountyor.gov
Hours: 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday
Statesman Journal reporter Whitney Woodworth contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Tatiana Parafiniuk-Talesnick at Tatiana@registerguard.com or 541-521-7512, and follow her on Twitter @TatianaSophiaPT. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Facebook groups, donor sites help Oregon parents with crisis
