As a nationwide formula shortage continues to wreak havoc on families with children, some in the Baltimore area are turning to one another for help navigating the crisis.
A Facebook group called “Help Each Other Baltimore Formula Crisis” has racked up more than 250 members in less than a week. In it, people share what formula they have at home that they can donate to each other, and post photos of what stock they’ve seen at area stores.
Groups like these have been vital during the current shortage; not only for parents but for medical practitioners as well.
Kristin Topel, the Program Manager for Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Community Connection program said the hospital has been turning to social media for leads as their suppliers have been affected by the shortage, too.
“Our advocates were actually scouring social media because people were posting pictures of grocery stores where there was formula on hand and trying to get that information out.”
She said the staff at their clinics is bombarded with calls from families looking for formula every day, but they don’t have any to give.
“We used to be able to order— it was like 250 cans a month, we would have on hand— we can’t even order through our suppliers any more.”
But LaToya Mobley, a social worker at the Harriet Lane Clinic in downtown Baltimore, says barriers to getting formula existed long before supply dried up earlier this month.
