A 1,200-mile road-trip and no baby formula to be found. This is a nightmare

The Guardian ^ | June 11,2022 | Anna Gazmarian

[Hojczyk]

The original formula recall announced by the FDA in February did not include the brand we used for our daughter, which made me assume that we would not be affected. As a first-time mom already concerned about keeping her baby safe during the pandemic, I didn’t need another thing to worry about. I thought that the government would step in before families had to go out of their way to find food. We noticed the large empty spaces on shelves at every store but remained optimistic that help would arrive soon. Yet the shelves only grew emptier.

My mother-in-law agreed to look for formula while driving from Nebraska to visit us. We relaxed a bit: surely some formula could be found on a 1,200-mile road trip. But we were wrong. There was none. Someone at our church offered us several boxes of expired formula from Germany. I read from many health experts online that the nutrients in formula start to degrade over time and bacteria can develop in formula past its due date – but we didn’t have any other options. Maybe I am just a first-time mom who needs to stop Googling everything, but I was desperate for someone to assure me that I was making the right choices and taking appropriate risks to keep my daughter alive.

Luckily, our daughter was able to tolerate the milk. But even with half the formula, we still struggle to find what we need. I recently had a friend in Boston mail me three boxes that she found 30 minutes outside the city. The support of my community is the only thing that keeps me believing in my daughter’s future. I recognize that it is a luxury to even have a support system to help us get by.

[Jim W N]

That reason is probably about as good as any and better than most.