President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act to boost the production of baby formula as a nationwide shortage has left parents frantically searching out-of-stock stores and online forums for formula to feed their infants.
The act is typically used during periods of emergency to increase the production of essential items. The order signed by Biden Wednesday compels suppliers of formula ingredients for manufacturers to prioritize orders from those companies.
Biden additionally ordered the military to fly formula that meets federal standards into the United States from abroad — a mission dubbed “Operation Fly Formula” by the White House.
“I know parents all across the country are worried about finding enough infant formula to feed their babies,” the president said in a video address Wednesday. “As a parent and a grandparent, I know just how stressful that is.”
The domestic shortage stems from the shutdown of a key formula production plant in Michigan.
In mid-February, Abbott began recalling powdered infant formula produced at one of its facilities in Sturgis, Michigan after regulators received complaints of bacterial contamination. The plant’s shutdown, combined with pandemic pressures, sent parents scrambling to find nutritional products for their infants.
The Michigan factory is the largest formula plant in the country. Federal officials announced a deal with Abbott on Monday that paves the way to restart production at the facility, but the site may not be running for up to 10 weeks, the Associated Press reported.
With the national supply of formula diminished, retailers have capped how much of the product parents can purchase at once. CVS, Walgreens and Target all limited customers to buying between three and four containers of formula.
Parents have instead turned to online forums and websites in hopes of locating enough formula for their infants.
More than 700 parents have reached out to the site FreeFormula.exchange, started by a Swampscott mom who hoped to pair families seeking formula with those who had extra.
“In numbers alone, you can see that the shortage is presenting as a crisis,” said Keiko Zoll, the Swampscott mother. “It really paints that picture of what the supply and demand issue really looks like.”
Zoll said she started hearing stories of parents and caregivers paying hundreds of dollars on Facebook Marketplace and eBay for formula as a shortage is causing empty store shelves.
“It absolutely enraged me,” she said. “And then at the same time, I was thinking back to when I was a new mom with an infant who was born six and a half weeks early, who needed to have expensive specialty formula that was hard to find. And I remember how stressful that entire experience was. And it seems like such a simple thing — feed your baby, but when there are other mitigating circumstances or things beyond your control is unbelievably overwhelming.”
Zoll advocated earlier this week for wider support from lawmakers for invoking the Defense Production Act to fight the formula shortage.
“We need our legislators to step up and lead in this moment,” she said.
MassLive reporters Chris Van Buskirk and Heather Morrison contributed to this story.
Related Content:
Ad Choices