HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) – For months some parents have been in a desperate situation to find baby formula amid a shortage. A local mother shares her struggle as she is trying to provide for her baby and a McAllen store is trying to help those in dire need.
Edinburg Mother of two Amy Boldin has traveled across south Texas trying to feed her 4-month-old daughter Olli.
“I literally sit there and cry every time we go into a store. I just feel like a failure because I can’t even provide my daughter with something to eat.” Boldin goes on to say, “my daughter drinks Pro Total Comfort, the Similac. So, when the whole recall happened, everything she had the little bulk left went away.”
Boldin says her daughter needs specific baby formula and after talking to their pediatrician about different options she said they did not help. Boldin also says because of personal reasons she is not able to breastfeed and they are now on her last two cans of baby formula.
“We have been desperate when we cannot find her formula. We had to put in four ounces of water and then one scoop of milk and then cut it down. It sounds bad, but I mean I have to make sure they are fed, said Boldin.
The nationwide shortage of formula is blamed on the recall and shutdown of the Abbott Nutrition Factory earlier this year. The lack of formula is also stressing out grocers.
“With the Abbott, we’ve been having some difficulties trying to get some of the formulas and so there are some formulas they’ve been able to give to us but they’ve also been cutting back and giving us a shortage and we don’t find out until we get the product,” said Isabel Guajardo, Vice President of operations for Siempre Grocery.
Guajardo says the lines for baby formula have been wrapped around the corner for months and are showing no signs of slowing down but there is some hope.
“Within our stores we do get shipments that are being sent at least once a week that come from our warehouse. So, there’s an opportunity that this week we may not have had but the following week maybe we will be able to have that product,” said Guajardo.
The store has put a limit on how many cans of baby formula customers can purchase and it is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
The White House said it is expanding the list of products that parents can purchase through WIC and working with manufacturers to import formula from overseas.
