As the nationwide baby formula shortage has reached its fourth month, parents from Metro Detroit stumbled into something that helped them combat the milk crisis: each other.
The Detriot Area Formula Finders Facebook Group that started last month now has over 2,000 members online. Its founder, Berkley parent Heather Chesnutt, said that the group aims to help save parents time and money in searching for formula as online inventories struggle to keep up with the actual remaining stocks in the store, Yahoo! News says.
She said that the Facebook group aims to connect caregivers with individuals who are shopping by posting a picture of the formula aisle while at the store so they can also be a solution in finding the formula.
Expanded members and services
The group has grown to more than 2,000 members since it was formed. Members post the formula that they need, and other members either sell, exchange, or give away the formula to caregivers. The group administrator also sources formula from other local milk-finding groups, Michigan Radio reports.
Mommy Averi Wilson said that the group helped her as she has recently struggled to find a formula. The past week, she got connected with someone who had extra formula through the Formula Finders Facebook group. She said that a woman in the group saw her post about the trouble she was having in finding a particular formula. She messaged her, said she had some extra formula for what she was looking for, and wanted her to pick it up.
The group has a daily "last can" announcement where caregivers can post if they are down to their last. The post also means they must find milk in less than 24 hours.
Problems with WIC
Chesnutt said that one of the group's purposes is to help WIC parents. The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is among the hardest hit by the formula shortage. It is a federally funded initiative implemented by the Michigan Department of Health to help low and moderate-income families access affordable, nutritious foods. The program has WIC credits that can be exchanged for Abbott baby formula brands and other foods at participating retailers.
When the formula shortage started, parents and children with WIC benefits found it more difficult to get milk because WIC credits are only accepted in person at a specific retailer where formula milk is often out of stock. In Michigan, half of the children born in the area benefit from the program. According to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin, around 85% of Michigan's formula-fed WIC participants were affected by the Abbott formula milk recall, Detroit New reports.
Places with available formulas would not accept WIC. In these stores, cans are expensive, so parents have to pay out of their pocket to buy the formula when they find it. Major stores like Costco and Target do not have WIC credit, and parents wish for stores that offer WIC to be expanded. Milk companies also tend to distribute formula to major stores with no WIC, so parents had to shell out for the milk.
With the rising price of gasoline, parents also find it expensive to scour formula milk everywhere. They admit that it's time-consuming and costly. Having an online group for an exchange of information is a big relief.
