'That milk doesn't exist': Louisville parents struggling amid nationwide formula shortage

The ongoing baby formula shortage is hitting families across the country, and Louisville is no exception.

Some families have walked hours on end to find the formula critical for newborn children. Others have turned to Facebook groups, searching for help from strangers.

Take Lismay Quesada and Norge Garcia. The Cuban natives and Jefferson County residents, like many frustrated parents, have spent recent weeks scouting everywhere to get their 4-month-old, Sammy Norge Garcia Aries, the formula he needs. He was born premature and can only drink one type of formula as a result.

"I walked the day before yesterday more than six hours looking for milk, and of the 10 cans that WIC gives us... we only got one," Garcia told The Courier Journal, speaking Spanish. "I went to seven Walmarts — all the Walmarts that are here in Louisville, I went to all of them. I went to Target and none of them have any. There is only milk for babies 9 months and older.

"For premature babies like ours, that weighed 1 pound, that milk doesn't exist."

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Parents across the U.S. are dealing with a baby formula shortage that has been going on for months. According to USA TODAY, the shortage really took hold in February after Abbott Nutrition recalled several of its products — Similac, Alimentum, EleCare and one lot of Similac PM 60/40 — manufactured in Michigan because of sanitary conditions at a plant there.

Quesada and Garcia have looked at all the stores near their home, including Kroger, Target and Walmart. They've even traveled 30 to 40 miles away for the specific kind of formula that their baby needs — Nutramigen.

The travel is only one part of the search. Some parents are taking to social media to look for formula, or to help others during the shortage.

Amber Compton, a Taylorsville Road resident, has used Facebook to connect Louisville mothers to people from other states who may be able to help. She posted in a Facebook group for Louisville moms on May 11 telling local mothers she could help connect them with possible help.

She hadn't received any responses as of Tuesday, she told The Courier Journal, but other states have similar groups, with women with access to specific baby formulas working to get them to people in need.

Compton, who is a mother of a 4-year-old boy and is three months pregnant, said she couldn't breastfeed following her first pregnancy and is acutely aware of how a baby formula shortage could affect her family following the birth of her next child.

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President Joe Biden addressed the nation last week and said he will provide new guidelines to the states' WIC program — the federally funded Woman, Infant and Children program — to let parents buy quantities of formula beyond what's been previously regulated.

On Wednesday, Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas.

Still, for Quesada and Garcia, the number of cans they're allowed to buy under the WIC program doesn't matter right now. Last time they visited the store, only one was on the shelf.

"It feels frustrating," Garcia said. "It's something that you have there in a card but you can't use it."

Robin Gillespie, Louisville's WIC nutrition manager, said the program is actively monitoring the situation.

“As a federally funded program through the state, WIC has been able to make adjustments to ensure that all infants it serves are able to obtain formula through this shortage," she said in early May. "This has been accomplished through offering many different brands and can sizes otherwise not permitted in the program."

Groups like Family & Children's Place, though their HANDS program, have guided Louisville area parents on what to do and what not to do. The program works with local families and helps them in their early parenting years.

Program Director Tamara Brown said HANDS is accepting donations from parents who have an excessive amount of baby formula, which will be taken to families who are unable to travel or live in locations where there are not many stores.

Brown said there are other measures families can take as well, including:

• Asking pediatricians for formula samples.

• Breastfeeding, if it's an option. Milk banks can often provide additional milk for families.

• Parents can order some formula online, although some international brands are not FDA approved.

• If the baby is older than 6 months, Brown encourages families to start giving them solid foods.

Brown said families should not dilute formula with more water, as that eliminates some nutrients babies need for development.

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The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services said, "Manufacturers have ramped up production 30-50 percent, bringing total production today above pre-recall levels." Families that are still struggling, though, can get information through manufacturer hotlines, community resources, resources for families that are eligible for WIC, like Quesada and Garcia, or through doctors.

But, for now, Quesada and Garcia are depending on samples from the NICU at the Norton's Children Hospital, where their baby was born, and donations from their church.

Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Formula shortage 'frustrating' for Louisville, Kentucky parents