While there is no longer a shortage of baby formula, the price of the product is causing parents some alarm.
The average price of a 900-gram can of formula has jumped 23 per cent in the last year. Depending on the age of the child, it can cost hundreds of dollars a month to feed them.
Rachel Rendle, a new mom to baby Elizabeth, told Global News the cost of it is very stressful for anyone needing to feed their baby.
“Formula is expensive,” she said. “We know that there’s been formula shortages. And it’s not just the shortages that are impacting people, it’s also the cost.”
Rendle said she probably spends about $250 a month on formula right now for baby Elizabeth.
“And she’s growing more and more, which is exciting,” she said. “But that also comes with the reality that she’s taking more formula.”
Rendle said she tried to breastfeed but her supply could not keep up with what her baby needed.
“And even if you are breastfeeding, you might have to supplement as well,” she said. “So it’s not something that just a few people are having to deal with. A lot of families are having to turn to formula to make sure that their kids are getting adequate nutrition.”
She added that the government needs to do something about the price of formula on the shelves.
“Families can’t afford formula at the prices that they are,” Rendle said. “And they also can’t keep dealing with the stress that it causes when they’re not able to get it on the shelves. You know, if they want families to be able to have kids and increase our population, they need to make it affordable.”
One of the organizations working to make sure parents have access to formula and other items is BabyGoRound, a non-profit based in Vancouver that helps support primarily low-income families.
“What happens is a lot of families end up coming to us looking for formula or breast pumps if they can, if they are still producing,” Meghan Neufeld, executive director of BabyGoRound told Global News. “But what we’ve seen is a lot of women aren’t able to produce, so they’re turning to formula and there’s very few options.”
“We’re seeing families from across the Lower Mainland who are in need. And when you can’t go to, you know, a food bank every week and you can only go bi-weekly, it puts you in a tough position.”
Neufeld said some families are getting desperate and may purchase formula in which they don’t fully know the origin or they are watering down the formula, which means their child may not be getting the correct amount of nutrition.
Right now, BabyGoRound helps 40 families a week, with about half of them needing formula.
“Unfortunately, we rely on donations from the public so we ourselves don’t have a sustainable supply of it,” Neufeld said. “So we’ve seen where we’ve had a family come in and we don’t have the formula for them. And it’s heartbreaking to say to that family, we don’t have it right now.”
There are only three manufacturers of infant formula in North America – all in the United States.
Abbott Nutrition in Michigan shut down in February 2022 due to contamination concerns. Although it has now restarted it is still not operating at 100 per cent capacity, which has led to a shortage of formula across the continent.
“With the decrease of supply everywhere, the cost has increased,” Neufeld said. “And so you see inflation rising. But when you have that shortage, it’s made it significantly worse.”
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