Local Nonprofits Work to Ease the Strain of Baby Formula Shortage
San Antonio has the highest out-of-stock rate for formula in the nation. Any Baby Can and the San Antonio Food Bank are working to help
The San Antonio nonprofit has served children and youth with serious health or developmental challenges for the last 40 years, which includes providing formula to babies who have allergies or special health care needs. In the last few weeks, the organization has removed its requirement for children to have a special health condition so that any family without formula can ask for help. “We’ve pivoted to meet that need,” Bernal says.
Published: May 20, 2022, San Antonio Magazine
In the last week, Any Baby Can president and CEO Elyse A. Bernal has received calls from moms in the Rio Grande Valley searching for baby formula and has watched San Antonio parents in tears when she hands them the specialty formula their infant requires.
“That’s what makes this shortage so scary. Even if you can get your hands on formula, you don’t know if it will work for your baby or not,” Bernal says.
The San Antonio nonprofit has served children and youth with serious health or developmental challenges for the last 40 years, which includes providing formula to babies who have allergies or special health care needs. In the last few weeks, the organization has removed its requirement for children to have a special health condition so that any family without formula can ask for help. “We’ve pivoted to meet that need,” Bernal says.
The need is great. At 56 percent, San Antonio reported the highest out-of-stock-rate for baby formula in the nation this week, according to Datasembly, which provides data to retailers. Nationwide, the out-of-stock-rate grew to 43 percent in early May, up from 30 percent in early April and from between 2 and 8 percent throughout 2021.
“This issue has been compounded by supply chain challenges, product recalls and historic inflation,” said Ben Reich, CEO of Datasembly.
The shortage was also caused by a recall of formula manufactured at an Abbott Nutrition facility in Michigan after evidence of a bacteria was found at the plant. An agreement with the FDA was reached this week to reopen the plant but ramping up production will take time. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden also invoked the Defense Production Act to boost supply. Reich, though, says the situation is not expected to improve immediately.
Local stores, like H-E-B, have worked to stretch the supplies they do receive by restricting the amount of formula a customer can purchase during one visit.
But that often hasn’t been enough. Samantha Perez looked in stores and reached out to friends, family and on social media before receiving formula at the San Antonio Food Bank for her baby who has a milk allergy. “To not be able to feed my newborn as a mother, this is my worst fear!” Perez told the food bank.
Michael Guerra, chief development officer at the San Antonio Food Bank, says they are only receiving 20 or so cans of donated formula each day and that they’re being distributed as quickly as they’re received.
Bernal says they helped around 100 families over the past 10 days, and that the call volume for assistance has doubled over the last week.
Any Baby Can works with Shield HealthCare, a medical supply company that donates formula to the nonprofit. Bernal says it’s not the typical brands parents are used to seeing at H-E-B, but the company has dieticians on staff who are helping them determine which formulas are comparable to the formula each family has already been using. They donate formulas crafted for babies with allergies or special health needs.
All formula is provided to families for free, though they have had to start limiting families to one can per week so they can continue to meet demand.
Bernal says she’s also urging families who don’t require specialty formulas to visit the San Antonio Food Bank or to reach out to their pediatrician’s office to inquire about samples that may be available for use.
The mom of a 4-year-old, Bernal says she struggled to produce milk when trying to breastfeed and then had to try several formulas before finding one that would work for her child. She bristles when she hears people ask why moms can’t just breastfeed if formula is low. “Breastfeeding is not a faucet you turn on and off,” she says.
She adds that they’ve seen families take desperate steps to feed their babies in recent weeks, so they urge parents to talk with their pediatrician if they need help.
It is not safe to water down formula, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The FDA also advises against making your own formula.
Those in need of a specialty formula can contact Any Baby Can here or by calling 210-227-0170. To request formula or other help from the San Antonio Food Bank, visit this link or call 210-431-8326.
Anyone with formula they don’t need is urged to donate it to the San Antonio Food Bank. Because Any Baby Can works with Shield, it is not taking donations of formula, though monetary donations are accepted.