In recent weeks, the hunt for baby formula amid a nationwide shortage has taken April Krogmeier to every grocery store in her southeast Iowa town, and on six-hour-long drives to four different states. “We have been communicating with friends, with family, everybody’s searching,” Krogmeier says.
Another resource she’s turned to is social media. She joined three Facebook community groups where users offer to ship each other formula brands they find in stores in their areas at cost to other parts of the country where parents might be struggling to find what they need.
Krogmeier’s four-month-old daughter, Evelyn, requires a special brand of formula that’s gentle on her digestive system, or else she suffers from painful acid reflux, for which she takes medication. Krogmeier initially tried to breastfeed Evelyn, but the baby didn’t take to it. Because Krogmeier’s milk supply has dropped, she says she’d need to spend more than 12 hours per day pumping if she wanted to keep working at it. “It’s just not doable for me, working full time and taking care of the kids,” she says.
So when someone in a Facebook group said she had extra cans of Enfamil Gentlease that she was willing to sell for $10 each — less than the $18 to $20 they go for in stores — Krogmeier felt lucky. “[The user] went as far as saying, ‘I work at the post office, I can cover the shipping,’” she says. “I’m like, God bless you. You are an amazing woman for doing this…
