Baby Food Shortages Hit Missouri

Parents nationwide are feeling the supply chain pinch as baby formula supply has plummeted 40% since April. The states with the lowest stock of baby formula include Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Texas, and Tennessee.

Formula production has decreased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent recall of formula by one of the largest producers of the product, Abbott laboratories, only exacerbated the shortage.

At some retail stores such as CVS and Walgreens only three baby formula products are able to be purchased at a time. There is also some concern about price gouging. But, despite the shortages experts warn against parents making their own baby formula as they struggle to locate specific brands.

“There are parents out there Googling how to make homemade formula and looking at animal milks and goats and all of this stuff, and that’s just really unsafe,” one mother spoke out. “And I feel that we’re on the verge of a public health crisis if this isn’t fixed.”

The mother of an 11-month-old, Christine Nesheiwat, sounded the alarm on “Fox & Friends First,” warning the shortages are only getting worse with time.

“It has been a nightmare,” Nesheiwat told co-host Todd Piro. “It seems like this is getting worse every day. It’s been going on for months now, and I don’t know when to expect the change.”

“I don’t know why this is not our government’s top priority, and it’s stressful,” she continued.