‘We’ve been everywhere,’ Local mother feels strain on lack of baby formula

DAYTON — While lawmakers in Washington, D.C. work to figure out how to handle the baby formula shortage, parents in the Miami Valley are left to figure out what to feed their babies.

News Center 7′s Molly Koweek learned that this can be particularly challenging for low-income families.

Marissa Johnson of Dayton is having a hard time finding formular for her baby. She noticed the same thing that NewsCenter 7 did on Monday as stores in Dayton, Oakwood, Kettering and Moraine were out of some types of formula in stock, while others were all gone.

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“We’ve been everywhere. Literally from Huber Heights to Oxford,” Johnson said. And, when she did find formula, it was too expensive.

Usually, the Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, WIC, helps her pay for it. WIC is federally funded, administered through the state and facilitated by county health departments.

Dan Suffoletto, spokesperson for Public Health – Dayton and Montgomery County, said, “Unfortunately, it’s a tough situation right now.”

He explained that the state regulates which formula parents can use money from WIC to buy. And Johnson said they type she is allowed to purchase; Enfamil Genglease is almost nowhere to be found, which means she sometimes must pay out of pocket for a different type of formula.

“By paying cash I’m taking out of my bill money. I can’t pay my rent and that’s kind of where I’m at,” Johnson said.

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According to Johnson, her daughter, Nariah, doesn’t take well to other brands.

“She’s puking every time she eats. She is getting sick, but I don’t have an option. It’s either she doesn’t take anything, or she takes what we can give her,” Johnson said.

Suffoletto said parents like Johnson can contact their county health department to change what type and size of formular they are allowed to buy, but that doesn’t necessarily solve the issue.

“Even if we are able to make adjustments in terms of the liquid versus the powder or the can size, you may get that changed, but by the time you go back to the store, it may not be available,” Suffoletto said.

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