An ongoing nationwide shortage of baby formula that began during the pandemic has been exacerbated by a recent recall. Now, some Maine parents are struggling to find what they need for their newborns.
For Lisbon Falls mom Kelley Crommett, it’s twice as hard.
Ever since she left the hospital after giving birth to her now 11-week old twins Walker and Lilah Montoya, Crommett has been constantly searching for Similac. Sometimes she’ll visit as many as seven stores looking for enough formula to keep up with their appetites.
“It’s been a struggle since we’ve got them home,” she said. “I’ve been down to one can before and I have no idea where I’m going to find the next one.”
Ginger Roberts-Scott, the director of the Maine Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, said formula of all types has become scarce during the shortage, but Similac has been especially so after a recall in February.
Store shelves started to thin out as companies were facing supply chain issues during the pandemic, she said. The manufacturers didn’t have enough workers, ingredients or packaging materials for the formula.
Now things have gotten worse. About 31 percent of baby formula products nationwide were out of stock in the first week of April, up from 23 percent in January, according to an analysis by Datasembly, a retail software company.
The lack of supply has prompted some stores to put caps on the number of baby formula products that can be bought at one time. That compounds the issue for someone like Crommett, who has two mouths to feed.
“It’s pretty nuts,” she said. “It’s been even rougher because I need double the formula.”
In order to try and keep a constant supply formula flowing, Crommett sent an “SOS” out on Facebook and has people keeping an eye out for her on local store stocks. She’ll often have to drive all over the area to find formulas to keep her afloat.
Thankfully, the little ones have recently switched from the more popular milk-based formula to a soy one, which has been more readily available as of late. But Crommett worries that she’s one of the only people buying that type of formula in her area, meaning once she purchases the last set, there will be no more left.
Abbott Nutrition, the major baby formula producer that had a recall in February, told the Washington Post last month that it was doing everything it could to address the shortage, including ramping up production of Similac, flying products over from Europe and working with health care providers to find alternative formulas.
In the meantime though, Crommett will just keep searching.
“I just assume this is the new norm,” she said.