America’s baby formula shortage dominated headlines earlier this year when the Abbott plant, the country’s largest manufacturer, suddenly shut down amid fears over contamination.
There was round-the-clock coverage of the crisis and promises from the Biden administration that all red-tape would be slashed in order to feed babies and calm mothers’ fears.
But nearly six months later, the infant care shelves in drugstores around the US remain bare and this week, the shortage reached a new low with 28.5 percent of products now completely out of stock.
Biden’s solution has been to fly in foreign formula to try to plug the gap, but the 802,446 bottles that arrive per shipment barely line the stomachs of the 3million babies born every year.
In the last six months, the White House has flown in 60million bottles in total – enough to feed America’s babies for just one week.
Now, DailyMail.com reveals the desperate measures mothers are taking to ensure their infants don’t go hungry, the impossible choices some are now facing and the oh-so-slow steps taken by the White House to ease the problem.
Biden’s failed attempt to ease the crisis by flying in foreign formula
On February 17, Abbott, the largest formula manufacturer in the country, announced an urgent recall for its Similac products amid fears that a harmful bacteria found at its plant in Sturgis, Michigan, had made its way into products.
Not only did it stop the plant from producing formula for weeks, but it also rendered much of the formula that had already been sold inedible. Suddenly, mothers had to throw out their stockpiles and hunt for more.
In another sector, the result might not have been as catastrophic. But Abbott produces around 40 percent of all of the baby formula in the US. And 40 percent of that 40 percent was produced in the shut-down plant – taking a huge chunk out of the market in one fell swoop.
Mothers immediately panicked in February when the Abbott plant closed and soon after, stores including Target and CVS began limiting the amount of formula one shopper can buy to three per person.
The White House took longer to sense the urgency.
It wasn’t until May that President Biden met with industry leaders in the Oval Office to discuss a logistical solution. In June, the White House launched Operation Fly Formula, bringing overseas formula to hard-hit pockets of the country.
The Biden administration has touted the mission as a success. But to date, only 53 flights have arrive bringing enough formula for 60million bottles – enough to meet the demand of just one week.
Vice President Kamala Harris applauding a shipment of formula to the US on June 17. Mothers say the White House effort has been ‘too little too late’. Since May, the White House has brought enough formula for 60million 8oz bottles of milk – but that is only enough to meet demand for one week
MICHIGAN: The shelves remain bare in stores across America with some versions of formula flying off shelves while others remain in stock. Mothers tell DailyMail.com it all depends on the type – some are unsuitable for many babies
NEW JERSEY: More empty shelves in New Jersey this week where many moms are now using Facebook groups to trade formula stockpiles instead of even attempting store purchase
MASSACHUSETTS: More empty shelves in a Target store in Cambridge, Massachusetts this week
LOUISIANA: At a CVS in Westwego, Louisiana, there were only a few types of formula left on shelves
‘The typical demand for baby formula is about 4 million lbs. each week which translates to approximately 60 million 8-ounce bottles,’ Ram Ganesham, Professor of Operations & Supply Chain at Raymond A. Mason School of Business in Virginia, told DailyMail.com.
First, a flight from Zurich brought 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of three formulas—Alfamino Infant, Alfamino Junior, and Gerber Good Start Extensive HA, from Zurich to Plainfield, Indiana.
Over the coming weeks, planes arrived from Germany, Australia and London.
More are planned for this week, but formula stock remains low.
Data shows the states that now have half or around two thirds of the formula they usually stock. The worst hit, per new data by IRI Analytics, is Arkansas
The formula shortage began in February with the sudden closure of an Abbott nutrition plant in Michigan. The effect was almost immediate – and it has steadily worsened over the last six months
New data reveals the hardest-hit state to be Arkansas, where nearly half of the ordinary stock level has been depleted. Montana, Minnesota, Michigan, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado are now all 30 percent out of stock – or more – according to the data compiled by IRI analysis.
Nationally, formula stock has dropped from being 85 percent in stock in February to less than 70 percent now.
But until they filter through to stores around the country, mothers are taking matters into their own hands.
I’m using my sister-in-law’s donated breastmilk because COVID stopped me from producing my own
Gina Timulo, 31, is a stay-at-home mother from Toms River, New Jersey, with an 19-month-old, Eliana, and a six-month-old. Valentina. Her partner Ralfy is an HVAC technician
Gina Timulo, 31, is a stay-at-home mother from Toms River, New Jersey, with an 19-month-old, Eliana, and a six-month-old. Valentina. Her partner Ralfy is an HVAC technician.
She has been struggling to find formula for months because their six-month-old has a milk allergy and recently had to ask her sister-in-law to donate some of her breastmilk.
Gina breastfed Valentina herself for the first six weeks of the infant’s life, until the family learned she was allergic to milk. She then switched to a dairy-free diet to feed her, but had to stop when the whole family was struck with COVID.
‘I wasn’t able to keep up with her demand…we started supplementing with formula in addition to breast milk I think between stress and sickness my supply dwindled and I was barely producing anything.
‘We made the full switch to powder Alimentum for Valentina’s health.’
In February, around the time she turned six months old, the Abbott plant in Sturgis, Michigan, suddenly halted production over a recall of its products.
Suddenly, mothers who could find alternatives in stores began to stockpile, and others who didn’t act quickly enough were left with empty pantries.
‘The ready-to-feed Alimentum was our only hope which, as you can imagine, quickly was out of stock all over because lots of families were in similar dispositions.
‘I was able to find it for a few weeks. But once again we are having a lot of difficulty locating any.’
For her family, help came from her kind sister-in-law who has a 10-month-old son. She happened to be on a dairy free diet herself, and agreed to donate breast milk to feed her niece.
‘My sister in law donated us quite a good amount, and I can’t thank her enough.’
She is not optimistic about the situation changing soon.
‘It’s been a wild ride and I’m not seeing a light at the end of this tunnel soon. I’m glad you are keeping this story alive as it seems all other news outlets and media have just moved on.
‘But it’s still a very real and very terrifying issue that many many many families are still facing everyday,’ she said.
I smuggled formula in from Colombia because I couldn’t find it in New Jersey
Christine Giller, 32, is a new mom to her six-month-old son Julian, who like most infants, needs a specific kind of baby formula.
When Julian was born, Giller and her fiancé Will experimented with several different kinds because their son had gas issues.
After a few months of trial and error, they found Enfamil Neuropro Gentlease relieved Julian’s stomach issues.
Christine Giller, 32, with her six-month-old Julian and her husband Will. They smuggled in three months of Enfamil using a friend’s uncle who was visiting New Jersey from Colombia
The issue was finally behind them until Giller noticed it started to become harder and harder to find Gentlease, until it was impossible.
Eventually, she took her search out of the country, turning to a friend in Colombia, whose uncle happened to be visiting New Jersey in April.
He brought with him a three-month supply for Giller. They met at JFK at dawn in April to collect the formula.
Now, it is almost at an end. She is now turning to Facebook groups, like most other moms, to find a solution.
The formula shortage is stopping me from trying for a second baby
Jackie Amabile, 36, tried for five years for a child with her husband. They eventually welcomed their son, Christopher, via IVF.
The couple had planned to try for a second child at the end of this year, but are now fearful that they won’t be able to feed a new baby as well.
‘I don’t see this shortage ending in 2022 and that makes me very nervous to have another baby. I just don’t know if that is the right time.
‘I want to have more security in formula should I not be able to pump or breastfeed, and I can’t responsibly bring another life into this world knowing that we struggle to feed them,’ she said.
Jackie Amabile, 36, has a seven-month-old son, Christopher. She is now scared to try for a second baby because she fears the formula shortage will continue into next year
Like many mothers, Jackie’s body didn’t produce enough milk to feed her seven-month-old son Christopher.
When she did try to nurse, he had difficulty latching.
She says one of the hardest components of the shortage is that many are now judging her- and millions of other mothers – who can’t breastfeed.
I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it is stressful enough when you have a first child. The one thing you never think about is worrying about how to feed your child
Jackie Amabile, 36, who has a seven-month-old
‘I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it is stressful enough when you have a first child. The one thing you never think about is worrying about how to feed your child.
‘The easy answer people who don’t have kids give is “well why don’t you just breastfeed”. But that sometimes cannot happen, and it’s not for a lack of trying.’
She says the government has been so distracted with other issues that the country’s infants seem to have ‘slipped through the cracks’.
‘There are other things they have their eyes on and this slipped through the cracks. It’s a horrible thing to say when there are babies and humans depending.
‘It was fantastic that they flew the formula in, but it’s too little too late.’
In the beginning of the shortage, Jackie stockpiled enough formula to feed Christopher for two weeks at a time.
She upped her reserves recently after waiting in vain for the problem to be solved.
‘Now, I’m trying to have a two month supply, if I can, without taking it away from the people.’
I’m scared to go back to work without enough food for my baby at home
Siami Sinthia is a 26-year-old mother-of-two from Rahway, New Jersey, who works in a hospital emergency room. Her four-month-old son Zane has colic and can’t digest the regular label formula that is often the only type found in stores
Siami Sinthia is a 26-year-old mother-of-two from Rahway, New Jersey, who works as a coordinator in a hospital emergency room.
Her four-month-old son Zane has colic and can’t digest the regular label formula that is often the only type found in stores.
She is due to return to work in two weeks, and she is now worried about how she will find time to source formula for Zane while juggling her full-time job and her four-year-old daughter too.
‘It’s very, very difficult. I thought I’d have breastmilk to feed him, like I did with my first baby, but the delivery process was so traumatic that it took a toll on my body and I wasn’t able to produce.
‘It makes me frightened now. Where do I find the formula that he needs? He’s very sensitive, has a very sensitive tummy because he has colic.’
She took over a Facebook group in her local area after the organizer threatened to close it down. It is how many women are finding what they need – in between scammers and price gougers.
Right now, Siami has enough formula stockpiled to feed her son for two weeks.
‘I’m just looking all over Facebook, all over the stores I’ve contacted don’t have what I need. The sensitive formula is not found easily.’
She is growing increasingly frustrated with the government for not doing more to end the crisis.
‘I’m sure the government has its ways to get these formulas back in stock I don’t know… where they’re being made.
‘Do something! This is America – we can make things happen. We just need to be focused on it and put our hearts there. They’re not focused on it at all. I don’t think they’re as worried as parents searching for foods for their babies, once your child is 6 months or 8 months you can give them food.
‘But those of us with newborns, we’re in a very scary situation,’ she said.
Abbott plant that started the crisis with sudden closure finally reopens…but progress is slow
The Abbott plant in Sturgis, Michigan, is what kicked-off the crisis when it suddenly forced to close in February over fears that some of its products were contaminated.
Investigations subsequently found that Cronobacter sakazakii – a form of bacteria – was present at the plant. There have since been claims of salmonella infections (which Abbott has denied), and whistleblower complaints of unsanitary conditions.
Not only did it stop the plant from producing formula for weeks, but it also rendered much of the formula that had already been sold inedible.
The Abbott plant in Sturgis, Michigan, is what kicked-off the crisis when it suddenly forced to close in February over fears that some of its products were contaminated. It is now reopen, and trying to ease the crisis
An employee leaving a shift at the Abbott plant in Sturgis, Michigan, on July 19. The company insists it is on track to return to normal produce levels
Workers leaving the Abbott plant this week in Sturgis, Michigan. They are now working round-the-clock to try to meet demand
A worker leaves the Abbott Nutrition plant in Sturgis, Michigan, on July 19. The plant reopened in late June after being closed for a second time by storms
Suddenly, mothers had to throw out their stockpiles and hunt for more. In another sector, the result might not have been as catastrophic.
But Abbott produces around 40 percent of all of the baby formula in the US. And 40 percent of that 40 percent is produced in the shut-down Sturgis plant – taking a huge chunk out of the market in one fell swoop.
It is now reopen and is slowly trying to catch up with the unprecedented demand.
DailyMail.com visited the plant this week and observed workers coming and going. The company has said it will do whatever it can to ensure production returns to normal levels.
The Abbott plant reopened on June 4 after being closed for four months.
It had to close suddenly again two weeks later when storms flooded the area where its EleCare product was being made.
Tired of waiting for help from the government, mothers take matters into their own hands with Facebook groups to trade formula and weed out price gougers
Taking matters into their own hands, mothers have launched Facebook groups to trade formula that isn’t suitable for their own babies, but might be for someone else’s
In the six months since the crisis began, the White House has claimed to be meeting the problem head-on by flying in shipments of foreign formula and cutting the red-tape to approve them in the US.
But over those six months, only 60million bottles have been flown in – enough to feed America’s nursing infants for around a week.
Taking matters into their own hands, mothers have launched Facebook groups to trade formula that isn’t suitable for their own babies, but might be for someone else’s.
The groups are organized by towns and they specifically ban selling.
Price gougers trying to capitalize on the crisis are immediately cast out with the wrath of thousands of mothers breathing down on them.
Some call themselves ‘Formula Finder’ groups. There are rules for entry.
‘Only ask for what you need’ and ‘fair pricing/no gouging’ are listed on many.
Among those who have started the groups is Siami Sinthia, a 26-year-old single mother-of-two who has a four-month-old baby boy.
Her son has colic so cannot digest the formula that is most commonly restocked.
She told DailyMail.com that most of the users who flock to her group abide by the rules but that some have sold opened cans containing corn starch instead of the precious formula they promised.
‘It’s disgraceful,’ she said.
Facebook told DailyMail.com the effort to locate formula was similar to vaccine finder groups set up at the height of COVID, when appointments were hard to come by.
‘We’ve seen many individuals and organizations on Facebook helping families affected by the formula shortage,’ a spokesman said.
They highlighted the South Florida Formula Info Group, set up by nurse and mother Katherine Quirk, and the charity Baby2Baby, which helps impoverished mothers source diapers, clothing and basic necessities, and is now focusing on finding formula.
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