Moms in New Jersey are struggling to find formula to feed their babies. Yes, still — nearly 10 months after an FDA recall at a large formula manufacturing plant in Michigan triggered what some supply chain experts call a series of unfortunate events.
And it’s that series of unfortunate events — the closure of the formula production facility shortly after the initial recall in mid-February, flooding from severe weather that caused the plant to close again in June just weeks after it had reopened, and then, of course, recalls on top of recalls — that’s turned finding formula into an exhausting and seemingly never ending feat for parents.
Stephanie Esposito, a Clark mother of two who in May created Facebook group “Formula Finder NJ,” as a resource for New Jersey parents who were, like her, looking for formula, says it’s an untenable situation “that’s gone on for way too long.”
“Thankfully, my son stopped taking formula two months ago,” she said. “But what too many parents here are still going through, just to find what they need, just to find something so basic like food for their children, it’s just ridiculous.”
It’s staring at bare bone supermarket shelves. It’s traveling store-to-store, sometimes even to locations in faraway towns. It’s risking falling prey to fraudsters and online scams. And competing with other parents for the last few cans.
And though news headlines about the crisis have waned, she says, the need certainly has not — “It may have gotten a little better here and there and in some areas... but I’m still seeing [Facebook] posts every day from parents who are desperate.”
Esposito’s right. The shortage has lessened but it’s not over: Data from market research firm IRI shows that while the share of out of stock powdered formula products in the U.S. has nearly been sliced in half over the past few months — from 31% at the height of the shortage in mid-July, to about 18% in the first week of October — stock rates are still worse than they were before the formula shortage hit.
I spoke with Carlstadt mom Diona Ignomirello-Segura earlier this year about her struggles to find baby formula for her daughter Audrianna, who was born prematurely, weighing only 1.3. pounds.
The sheer panic and frustration in her voice made our conversation hard to forget. When I spoke to her yesterday some of those strong emotions were still there — “Oh yes, I’m still struggling,” she said.
“Some days it’s OK, others it not,” she told me. “Will you find formula? It’s unpredictable ...like last night, I went to the store and was only able to get one can. Three weeks ago, there was plenty.”
It made her wish she had “stocked up” but she says it broke her heart to think that by doing so she’d take much-needed formula away from other children — which is both kind and important since we know hoarding only exacerbates shortages.
Those with less financial means are even more vulnerable during times of scarcity. But as a mom myself, I can’t help but recognize the difficulty of her predicament, and absolutely hate that any parent has to face it.
Economist Yana Rodgers, faculty director of the Rutgers Center for Women and Work, said parents in low-income communities, in communities of color, or who live in rural areas, are finding themselves in an even tougher spot.
“There are many people for who overbuying is not even an option,” she said. “People who are already disadvantaged when a shortage happens so yes, it’s definitely imperative to keep those we know to be most vulnerable top of mind.”
Kimberly Castaldo Green, a Dunellen mom, who in May told me her 6-year-old son Jack relies on a specialized formula called Neocate Splash for sustenance, said that’s how she feels most of the time: vulnerable.
She told me she too is still struggling to find formula for her son. “It’s been almost a year and we’re still having to ration formula,” she said. “It’s a daily hunt.”
It’s a hunt that for Castaldo Green has also been riddled with traps. “I was scammed out of hundreds of dollars by a person on Facebook purporting to have the formula my son needs,” she told me.
“It shouldn’t be this difficult ...and I keep wondering when it won’t be anymore. Some reports predicted August but August came and went so when will this end? Why hasn’t it yet?”
Rudi Leuschner, an associate professor of supply chain management at Rutgers University, said getting back to pre-shortage baby formula stock levels will likely take more time than we’d like it to.
“Think of the supply [of baby formula] as a river,” he said. “If you suddenly interrupt the flow of the water, you’ll still get some water flowing down but it’ll start coming in less and less and eventually dry out.”
“Just the same,” he explained, “when you let the water back in, it’s going to fill up again but not immediately ...it’ll fill up more and more slowly. It takes a while.”
“That’s why we’re still here,” he says. “We’re still in that process and simply haven’t gotten back to the original, pre-disruption levels.”
Trying to discern when that’ll happen, however, is much more tricky, he said. “Because when it comes to any supply chain, there’s always so many moving parts,” Leuschner said.
“But when it involves something like this and the impact is on babies and little kids, it’s crushing.”
Daysi Calavia-Robertson may be reached at dcalavia-robertson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Instagram at @presspassdaysi or Twitter @presspassdaysi.
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