A year on, many US parents are still reeling from baby formula shortage

theguardian.com:

Marie Abate’s son turned six months old last Wednesday, but the joyous milestone also marked a more anxious one: half a year of worrying about how to feed him.

Abate wasn’t just concerned about trying to establish breastfeeding or setting a feeding schedule. She has a more fundamental concern: will she be able to find enough formula to make sure he doesn’t go hungry?

“It’s very stressful,” said Abate, who lives in Towson, Maryland. “I just worry that we won’t have enough for him and he’s going to need to eat.”

The baby formula shortage in the US is not as dire now as when it began in 2022, when stock reached deep lows and triggered a political crisis for Joe Biden. But many families in America still struggle to find formula, facing empty shelves and unremitting stress. Stockouts of certain brands and limitations in stores persist, especially in rural areas with fewer options.

“I’ve been facing empty shelves, for sure,” Abate said. “It’s very rare that I can go into a store and purchase formula.” That was especially true when she was supplementing her breast milk for the first five months. Her son was born prematurely, and he needed a special formula for preterm infants. There are only two types of that formula available, and she never once saw them on the shelf.

Instead, Abate spent hours poring over medical supply websites. She asked friends and family to look in the formula aisle anytime they went to a store. She called pharmacies to see if they could special-order it, and her pediatrician set aside any samples that came into the office. Abate even bought unopened cans from manufacturers on eBay.

A month ago, struggling to find the special type, she switched to regular formula, which has been somewhat easier to find. Even