Parents and politicians slam Biden for failing to intervene in baby formula crisis

Parents and politicians alike are slamming President Biden for his failure to address the US’ ongoing baby formula shortage – with one distressed dad saying ‘never did I think I would have a problem finding food for my baby in America.’

The backlash against Biden comes as the formula shortage has reached crisis levels in recent weeks, with at least 12 states facing 40 percent or higher out of stock rates.

As shelves across the country meant to carry formula remain largely barren, parents such as Russell Bleck, a husband and father in Lexington, Kentucky, have become desperate to get their hands on the all important product.

The couple, who survived the notorious Las Vegas concert shooting in 2017 – the deadliest mass shooting by an individual in US history – moved to Kentucky later that year ahead of the birth of their daughter, Aurora, now 3, with plans to raise a family.

Speaking to Fox News Digital Friday, Bleck – whose wife, Bre, gave birth to the pair’s second child, Asher, six weeks ago – said he finds the shortage ‘very stressful,’ and pleaded for both the government and media to better address the crisis.

Parents and politicians alike are slamming President Biden for his failure to address the US’ ongoing baby formula shortage, which has reach crisis levels in recent weeks

The shortage has left parents like Russell and Bre Bleck of Kentucky frantically searching for formula in stores and online. 'The panic of possibly not being able to feed my baby was intense,' Bleck, 33, said, pleading for both the government and media to address the crisis. Pictured is the couple with their 3-year-old daughter, Aurora

The shortage has left parents like Russell and Bre Bleck of Kentucky frantically searching for formula in stores and online. ‘The panic of possibly not being able to feed my baby was intense,’ Bleck, 33, said, pleading for both the government and media to address the crisis. Pictured is the couple with their 3-year-old daughter, Aurora

The pair welcome their second child, son Asher, six weeks ago, and say they have since had great difficulty finding formula for the infant

The pair welcome their second child, son Asher, six weeks ago, and say they have since had great difficulty finding formula for the infant

‘The panic of possibly not being able to feed my baby was intense,’ Bleck, 33, told the outlet in an email interview Friday.

‘We first noticed the formula shortage in February. However, it didn’t impact us until a couple of weeks ago.’

Bleck continued: ‘I saw a friend of ours make a Facebook post [about] not being able to find her brand. She recently had a double mastectomy, so milk production wasn’t an option.’

Bleck then detailed his own difficulties in finding formula for his infant son over the past several weeks, unable to find any brand of the product at a local store.

‘We were on our last can, so I ran up to the store at 11 pm right before they closed. They were completely out of every brand of formula. I couldn’t even switch brands.’

Bleck told the outlet that as a father, he had ‘never even thought’ such a scarcity of baby formula was possible – but has since been confronted with the cold reality of the crisis, which worsened in February after a recall related to the death of an infant saw several top brands stripped from store shelves.

‘I jumped into gear and spent all night online,’ he told Fox, after failing to track down the product.  

Only ‘after ordering from 5 different places,’ Bleck said, ‘one order was fulfilled for one can.’  

‘The rest,’ the father said, ‘were either canceled or delayed – even today,’ he said, referring to the day of the interview, Friday, May 6, 2022.  

‘These are real problems for real people.’

The national shortage of baby formula, spurred by pandemic-related supply-chain issues, has left store shelves across the nation barren, with at least 12 states facing 40 percent or higher out of stock rates

The national shortage of baby formula, spurred by pandemic-related supply-chain issues, has left store shelves across the nation barren, with at least 12 states facing 40 percent or higher out of stock rates

Bleck said that Asher’s preferred brand is Enfamil Gentlease, but that given the difficulty he and his wife have had in tracking down the product, the family is now ‘open to anything.’  

For now, Bleck said that he and his wife have been able to sniff out some few-and-far-between stashes of the formula through the use social media and with the aid of some parent groups.

‘If that doesn’t work,’ he said, ‘we have had friends or family swing by the baby section in other states. We send them money via Venmo or Cashapp – and they ship it to us.’

He added: ‘This is really stressful. My wife and I are survivors of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. We moved to Kentucky to raise a family.

‘Never did I think I would have a problem finding food for my baby in America.’

Bleck said he is frustrated by the mainstream media’s coverage of this shortage, and the lack of action taken to address the crisis.

‘It would be nice if the MSM would get back to covering what is impacting people’s lives,’ he told Fox Friday.

‘For the first time in my lifetime, I am seeing everyone from all walks of life hurt.’

He added: ‘It doesn’t matter who you are – you are feeling this economy.’

The national shortage, which experts say stems from pandemic-related supply-chain issues, has worsened in recent months, spurring a slew of conservative commentators to criticize President Biden’s hesitance to address the situation.

‘This is horrific,’ Indiana congressman Jim Banks wrote in a tweet criticizing the president – whose administration has provided more than $4 billion to Ukraine since he was elected, with plans to shell out billions more in the coming months. 

‘In six states, more than 50% of baby formula is out of stock,’ Banks, a Republican, wrote.

‘Across the country, the price of formula is up nearly 20 percent from last year,’ he went on, also noting the current inflation crisis that has emerged in the little more than two years since Biden assumed office.  

‘Young parents are having to ration food. The disastrous Joe Biden economy is turning into a crisis.’

The national shortage, which experts say stems from pandemic-related supply-chain issues, has worsened in recent months, spurring a slew of conservative commentators to criticize President Biden's hesitance to address the situation

The national shortage, which experts say stems from pandemic-related supply-chain issues, has worsened in recent months, spurring a slew of conservative commentators to criticize President Biden’s hesitance to address the situation

Along with the scathing post, the congressman attached a photo detailing several case studies of parents struggling to find formula for their young ones amid the shortage.

Louisiana rep Steve Scalise also offered the president some strong words over social media this week in regards to the shortage.

‘Parents already have to worry about higher gas prices, expensive groceries, and higher utility bills. And now? No baby formula on the shelves. Thanks, Biden,’ the politician wrote.

Even Democrats are pleading the president take action, with US Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island sending a letter to Biden last month urging his administration to take action to address the shortage.

‘This recent baby formula shortage is causing a lot of stress for new parents and it can be hard to find a specific brand at local stores,’ Reed wrote.

‘But the good news is there is plenty of baby formula to go around, we just need to get it to those in need. 

‘I want to ensure the federal government is doing its part, being proactive, and helping new moms and dads and solve this issue,’ said Reed.

The politician then poised a series of questions to the president – which have since remained unanswered.   

‘1.What steps have your agencies taken to minimize the impact of the immediate shortage?,’ Reed wrote.

‘2.When do your agencies expect baby formula inventory to be back to sufficient levels?’ and ‘3.What measures should be taken in the long term to minimize the supply chain disruptions for what is an essential product for many families?’

Even Democrats are pleading the president take action, with US Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island sending a letter to Biden last month urging his administration to take action to address the shortage

Even Democrats are pleading the president take action, with US Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island sending a letter to Biden last month urging his administration to take action to address the shortage

Meanwhile, parents across the country have also taken to social media to plead for political action and more media coverage to address the shortage, posting pictures of barren store shelves as the shortage continues to worsen.

‘If the MSM [mainstream media] can talk about the toilet paper shortage ever (sic) hour, they should be talking about the baby formula shortage at least,’ one concerned mother wrote last week. 

‘We ended [up] finding the Amazon brand online but not everyone is so lucky to be able to feed that. Please share. This is every store!’

Another mom in New York told WKTV earlier in the week that she went to ‘five different stores’ and still failed to find any formula. ‘I cried in the store because I couldn’t find what she needed,’ the emotional mom told the outlet Tuesday.

Ashleigh Olsen, of Jacksonville, Florida, said her 9-month-old is limited to a specific formula she orders straight from the manufacturer as her son could face an allergic reaction to others. But there is no word on when it will be available again.   

‘Luckily I stocked up last time. So today when I opened my last can, that kind of lit my fire a little bit,’ Olsen said. 

In the Midwest, Kassidi Hillard, who has a 2-month-old who needs Similac Pro-Advance, told WDRB she has ‘looked at every store in Indiana and here (in Kentucky) and haven’t found her formula at not one store.

‘It’s kind of stressful, cause if you can’t find formula, it’s like they can’t eat nothing else,’ Hillard said. ‘They can’t have baby food, they can’t have hard food, they can’t have what we eat so it’s really, it’s not an easy thing to go through.’

In Texas, Emily Pyeatt, 22, wrote on Facebook that she recently went to eight stores in search of formula for her 8-month-old.

‘This is the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced,’ she wrote on March 30. ‘How are we supposed to feed our children when there’s NO FORMULA ON THE SHELVES?’

She later told the Washington Post that as she was down to her last three cans, she has been easing her son onto more solid foods, as she does not produce enough milk to breastfeed.

‘It was a very heartbreaking decision to stop, and I think it’s upsetting for someone to say that,’ Pyeatt said, adding: ‘I pray for the women who have babies who are not old enough for solid food.’

Danielle Arzola, 27, also of Texas, told the Post that when she tried to switch formula brands, her 6-month-old got sick, and she now has to drive all over town to find the brand she needs. She has even resorted to buying formula from people in other states.

For the week of April 3, at least 12 states faced out of stock rates higher than 40 percent, including Connecticut, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island

For the week of April 3, at least 12 states faced out of stock rates higher than 40 percent, including Connecticut, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island

The shortage has gotten so dire, that even the country’s largest retailers – such as CVS, Walgreens, and Target – are rationing baby formula amid a national shortage.

Last month, both CVS – the country’s largest pharmacy chain – and popular big-box option Target announced restrictions on the amount of formula purchases shoppers can make, both online and in-person. 

A spokesperson for Target – which boasts 1,931 stores nationwide – announced stores in most states will now have a five-per-day limit on baby formula purchases, at the request of the Food and Drug Administration. 

CVS, meanwhile, which oversees 9,932 US stores, are limiting customers to three purchases a day.

‘Following supplier challenges and increased customer demand, we’ve added a limit of three baby formula products per purchase in our stores and online,’ a spokesperson for the drug store told DailyMail.com following the announcement.

‘We’re continuing to work with our baby formula vendors to address this issue and we regret any inconvenience this causes our customers,’ the spokeswomen said. 

Also limiting quantities of baby formulas that consumers can pick up is storied supermarket chain Kroger – which has nearly 2,800 locations nationwide – and drug store stalwart Walgreen’s, which have both implemented limits on customers. 

Walgreen’s – the second-largest pharmacy chain in the country – said it is similarly limiting customers to three infant and toddler formula product purchases at a time at its 9,021 US locations. 

A company spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the restrictions, which have been in effect for more than a month, stem from an ‘increased demand and various supplier issues.’

US retailer are rationing baby formula amid a national shortage of the all-important product, less than two months after a recall related to the death of an infant exacerbated the ongoing crisis. Pictured is a barren formula shelf at a big box store in January, when supply chain issues had already shortened formula supply. The shortage has since worsened to crisis levels

US retailer are rationing baby formula amid a national shortage of the all-important product, less than two months after a recall related to the death of an infant exacerbated the ongoing crisis. Pictured is a barren formula shelf at a big box store in January, when supply chain issues had already shortened formula supply. The shortage has since worsened to crisis levels

CVS - the country's largest pharmacy chain - announced restrictions on the amount of formula purchases shoppers can make, both online and in-person. The chain, which oversees 9,932 US locations, are now limiting customers to three purchases a day, a spokesperson said

CVS – the country’s largest pharmacy chain – announced restrictions on the amount of formula purchases shoppers can make, both online and in-person. The chain, which oversees 9,932 US locations, are now limiting customers to three purchases a day, a spokesperson said

National out-of-stock levels jumped nine percentage points from 31 percent to 40 percent between April 3 and April 24, according to an analysis from Datasembly, which tracked baby formula stock at more than 11,000 retailers.

In the week ending April 24, CBS News reports, 40 to 50 percent of the top-selling baby formula products were out of stock at stores across the country, Datasembly reported. 

For the week of April 3, at least 12 states faced out of stock rates higher than 40 percent, including Connecticut, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington, Datasembly reported. 

During the same time period Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota suffered 50 to 51 percent shortage, Missouri a 52 percent shortage, Texas 53 percent and Tennessee a whopping 54 percent shortage. 

Meanwhile 12 major metro areas faces out of stock rates higher than 40 percent, including Baltimore, Charlotte, Des Moines, Greenville, Hartford-New Haven, Houston, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans Mobile, Oahu, San Antonio, and Seattle. 

Three metro areas had out of stock rates 50 percent and higher, including Des Moines with a 50 percent shortage, Minneapolis with a 55 percent shortage and San Antonio with 56 percent. 

Now, baby formula producers are working to once again ramp up production.

‘We know that this recall has further exacerbated an industry-wide instant formula supply shortage,’ Abbott Labs told the Washington Post in a statement.

‘We are doing everything we can to address it,’ the company said, including ramping up production of Similac, air-freighting in products from Europe and working with health care providers to identify alternative formulas.

In the meantime, experts say, parents should not dilute their baby’s formula, try to make their own formula at home or try to replace it with cow’s milk. 

Doing so is ‘not nutritionally comparable with breast milk or infant formula,’ according to Brian Dittmeier, senior director of public policy at the National WIC Association, and could cause nutrient deficiencies that can have a ‘profound impact on an infant’s growth and development.’

He said any parents who are struggling to find formula can contact their local WIC agencies and food banks for help locating some in their communities. 

The Infant Nutrition Council of America is also encouraging parents to keep a 10-day to two week supply of formula at home  – but is urging them not to stockpile products as the shortage continues – and experts say there is no end in sight.

The president has yet to comment on or address the shortage.      

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk