Baby Food Shortage

[The Sultan]

When there is a shortage of anything, people who get access to product will tend to buy extra - so that makes the problem worse.  (I wouldn't say "hoarding" because that implies something negative to a pretty normal action.)

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Like when the pandemic started everyone started hoarding toilet paper and Lysol wipes.

[MU82]

We're going to run out of formula this week. Our fortune is that Simon is 3 weeks away from his first birthday and our pediatrician said we can just switch to whole milk a little bit early. I still check for formula every time I go to the store.

What's baffled me is this effectively has come from one producer shutting down production. We use Enfamil and they were never part of the recall, yet despite my 4-5 trips per week to grocery stores or Target, I haven't seen a container of anything in months. You'd think even with one producer shutting down, you'd occasionally luck into a shipment from one of the others.

Maybe there are parenting Facebook groups that are telling all their members when shipments come so there's a rush every time that a few cases come in, but it's amazing how thoroughly Similac hamstrung the industry.

It's both weird and disappointing, brew. Thankfully, Simon is old enough that it shouldn't affect him. Be well.

[brewcity77]

Like when the pandemic started everyone started hoarding toilet paper and Lysol wipes.

They did, and it's a good comparison, but the pandemic was an overnight thing. I remember buying toilet paper on a Wednesday morning from full shelves and coming back Thursday afternoon and it was wiped out. Anyone that buys formula has seen the shelves depleting since February. Between the shipments from overseas and the knowledge of reduced production at Similac, it's hard to see how nothing has righted the ship at all.

And maybe I just have bad timing, but if Enfamil (our normal brand) or generics are still shipping, you'd think I'd have lucked into seeing them once among the dozens of trips I make, or that those companies would have seen the profit motive to increase their own production. Especially with it being in the news pretty consistently for the past 6-8 weeks, I expected we would see things start to turn once attention was finally there. I remember joking when it first popped up on news channels in late April "where have they been the last two months, this isn't new news?" but here we sit.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Maybe there are parenting Facebook groups that are telling all their members when shipments come so there's a rush every time that a few cases come in, but it's amazing how thoroughly Similac hamstrung the industry.

I guarantee you that there are people who get advanced notice of when shipments are coming in and let their friends and family members know. My guess is that if you aren't there for the shipment being stocked, you will never luck into one until this is fixed.

[The Sultan]

I guarantee you that there are people who get advanced notice of when shipments are coming in and let their friends and family members know. My guess is that if you aren't there for the shipment being stocked, you will never luck into one until this is fixed.

My brother in law works at a "big box retailer," and every time a shipment of wipes came in during the beginning of the pandemic, employees bought out 2/3 of the stock.  Everytime we saw him we got another tube.  I think we just finished off the last one he gave us a month ago.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

My brother in law works at a "big box retailer," and every time a shipment of wipes came in during the beginning of the pandemic, employees bought out 2/3 of the stock.  Everytime we saw him we got another tube.  I think we just finished off the last one he gave us a month ago.

My wife went overboard and we still have a 5-6 year supply ...

[warriorchick]

For anyone who might need it, I am in the Menomonee Falls Costco right now and they have the cases of pre-made Similac bottles. Limit 2 per membership.