SWAMPSCOTT, MASS. (WHDH) - The nationwide formula shortage is making it hard for parents to provide for their young children.
Even after an agreement was struck between formula maker Abbott and the FDA Monday afternoon to begin production again, it could still take up to six to eight weeks for the formula to hit the shelves. In the meantime, one local mother is going out of her way to help parents provide for their children.
Keiko Zoll started the Free Formula Exchange to connect parents in need with those who have extra formula on hand.
“I found myself so overcome with emotion because I have been that mother,” she explained.
The setup is simple.
“If you need formula, there’s a big button- a big section that says ‘I need formula,” Zoll said. “If you have formula to donate or to share, you can click on ‘I have formula.'”
The Swampscott mom said she got the idea for the website after seeing how the current baby formula shortage has impacted families.
“I was hearing stories about women who were paying hundreds of dollars for a single can of formula on eBay. That just didn’t sit right with me,” Zoll said.
Zoll said finding formula for her premature son was difficult several years ago and there wasn’t even a shortage at the time.
“That was in a time of plenty. And now, here we are in a time of a national shortage,” she said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like– what it would be like to be the mother that I was nine years ago today.”
So far, Zoll said the exchange is doing well, but she hopes that before long, the website becomes unnecessary.
“I think one of the long-term goals that I have for this site is that this site doesn’t exist in the long term and that the shortage is over,” she said.
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