Family Promise of Spokane asks for baby formula donations amid shortage
SPOKANE, Wash. — Nationwide, and here locally, moms looking for baby formula are being met with empty shelves. It’s impacting the most vulnerable moms in the Inland Northwest community.
Many are looking for the right formula to feed their kids, but grocery stores are coming up empty-handed.
Two-month-old Luna has been fed by formula ever since she was born.
“I’d been wanting to breastfeed but my milk supply is not that good so I was using some formula,” said Iris de Grande, Luna’s mother.
Iris says she can’t find the formula she needs.
“It makes me sad and upset because your child is like the most important thing to you and you want them to feel like they can grow,” she said.
Iris says she’s lucky though, as one of her friends is breastfeeding.
“I’m blessed because she has an oversupply and can supply multiple ounces in a day that I need,” Iris said.
Another mom says formula is really her only option.
“He needs a special kind of formula and we’ve gone to several stores,” said mother Breanna Mullen. “I mean three days in a row I’ve went to different grocery stores to find out the kind that he needs, and I can’t find it anywhere.”
She’s looking for formulas by bus, and where she feeds her infant a different formula, her two-month-old gets an upset stomach.
“I had been to 4 different grocery stores and finally the 4th one, I was just so frustrated, I wanted to cry,” she said. “Even now it’s a fear of mine, you know, that I’m going to go to the grocery store because like I said, I got one can from my friend and it’s like once that can’s gone, who knows if we’re going to be able to find another can.”
Now, Family Promise is reaching out to the community to help moms find the formula they need.
“Here’s a great easy simple way to jump in and be a part of ending family homelessness,” said Emma Hughes, the outreach and recruitment director at Family Promise. “If you find formula, donate it to Family Promise.”
If you have extra formula that you can drop off, you can leave it at 2002 E Mission Avenue.
READ: Northwest breast milk banks see surge in inquiries
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