Baby formula shortage hurts small businesses as shelves remain empty
Borchardt Brothers Market owner Andrew Borchardt shares the ‘crippling’ effects the baby formula crisis has had for both his Michigan store and his local community.
The issue may have faded from most news headlines, but one Ohio father of a young child shared with Fox News Digital exclusively this week that he still cannot find adequate supplies of formula for his young baby.
The baby formula shortage — for him and his family — remains an urgent matter and he's been reaching out extensively to companies and pediatricians' offices for help.
"Baby Asher is now almost 4 months old," said Russell Bleck this week.
"We had to move from Kentucky after I was laid off from my job [recently]," he added. "We now live in a tiny beach town in Northeast Ohio."
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Bleck and his wife have been searching high and low for Enfamile Gentlease formula for their infant son, with very little luck.
Bleck, a husband and father, has two children — daughter Aurora, who is three-and-a-half years old, and baby son Asher, nearly 4 months old.
He said he and his wife, Bre, are still nervous about the ongoing baby formula shortage.
Baby Asher is shown in this sweet photo from the Bleck family, who now live in Ohio and are still having trouble finding enough formula for their infant. (The Bleck Family )
Bleck had previously said he was finding the shortage "very stressful" and a "real problem for real people."
"We first noticed the formula shortage in February," Bleck, 33, told Fox News Digital in May of this year.
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That month, he reached out to Enfamil directly to see what the company might be able to do to help his family get enough of the needed formula for their baby.
The Bleck family, previously of Kentucky and now living in Ohio, shared their ongoing struggles in July 2022 to find enough baby formula to feed their young son. (The Bleck Family)
In response, a customer service representative texted him and said, "Hello, Russell! We're sorry you are having this experience. We'd be happy to see what Enfamil NeuroPro Gentlease promotions are available."
The representative added — in a note Bleck shared with Fox News Digital — "Please respond with your home mailing address and your baby's date of birth. We look forward to hearing from you."
Bleck then shared his family's address with the company.
In June, he contacted the company again, given the family's continuing urgent problems in finding the formula for the baby.
The baby formula shortage in the United States has led to many empty shelves or mostly empty shelves like these in many retail outlets. (Fox News Digital)
He shared the company's additional response with Fox News Digital.
"I am so sorry that you are having difficulty finding our Enfamil® Gentlease®," a customer service representative wrote back to him.
"We are urgently responding to an increase in demand for many of our brands because of the recall of another manufacturer’s product," the representative continued.
Some images of Enfamil infant formula are shown here. The Breck family of Ohio use Enfamil Gentlease for their infant but have been having a very hard time finding enough of it. (Fox News Digital)
"We know that the inability to find your baby’s formula is worrisome, and we are working diligently to produce and distribute our products."
The representative added, "If you are struggling to locate your baby’s formula, here are some ways to help you."
"We know that the inability to find your baby’s formula is worrisome, and we are working diligently to produce and distribute our products."
The representative listed four ways.
"Check our Enfamil® Store Locator daily to identify retailers in your area and online that carry Gentlease," she wrote. (She also included a hyperlink to the store locator.)
"We’ve updated the range of our Store Locator, allowing a broader radius for you to search for your formula from your zip code. Be sure to call ahead to make sure it is available," she also said.
"Please let me know if we can assist you with anything else. We're always here to help in any way we can."
"Talk to local store managers. They may be able to share the days they receive inventory."
"Check with your pediatrician for available samples or promotions," she said as well.
The representative closed her note with a "thank you": "Thank you for being a part of our Enfamil family, Russell. Please let me know if we can assist you with anything else. We're always here to help in any way we can."
Signs at a local Target informed shoppers not long ago that they were limited to four containers per customer to the shortage of baby formula. (Fox News Digital)
Enfamil baby formula is made by Chicago-based Mead Johnson.
The company, which moved its headquarters from Glenview to Chicago several years ago, was acquired by British firm Reckitt Benckiser.
Fox News Digital reached out to Reckitt for comment.
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In a response received Thursday afternoon, Reckitt noted that the issue of baby formula supply. is of the "highest priority" for the company.
Reckitt noted that in the month of July 2022, it is "sending 192 metric tons of formula base powder on three cargo flights from its world-class facility in Tuas, Singapore, to the U.S., equivalent of more than 5.9 million 8-oz servings, in the largest Operation Fly Formula delivery to date."
It also said, "This imported infant formula powder will be finished and packaged in the United States as Enfamil."
Store shelves in many stores and in a variety of locations this year in the United States have looked very much like this. (Fox News Digital)
In addition, Reckitt noted, "These Enfamil products are already part of an extensive nationwide distribution network that reaches retail shelves across America quickly and efficiently and are also approved as WIC-eligible, to meet the needs of every family searching for infant formula."
It also said, "Reckitt is doing everything possible to put more products on shelves. Manufacturing facilities are operating 24/7, and the company is continually looking for more ways to increase supply, while ensuring the highest levels of safety and quality."
"They told me they would see what samples and marketing promos were available and to expect two different things in the mail: a voucher and some formula."
The company noted that is working closely with President Biden and the FDA, "to expedite approval for additional factory capacity, access key ingredients and make it easier to ensure the most vulnerable babies have access to the formula they need."
It added, "This is the highest priority for Reckitt as a company and the entire industry."
Rows of baby formula are shown at a Costco in Tijuana, Mexico. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)
The company also noted in a media statement issued in June that its "ongoing efforts to increase access to infant formula" included these six steps:
"Operating our plants 24/7"
"Streamlining our product portfolio to maximize production capacity"
"Working with the United States government on securing additional manufacturing inputs and unlocking further capacity from our Delicias, Mexico, facility"
"We placed an order through the company Buy Buy Baby back in April for 4 cans. It has been delayed 3 months and we still have not received it."
"Partnering with retailers to expedite orders and trucks and prioritizing formula at their distribution centers to fill shelves more quickly"
"Dispatching product as soon as we have verified the quality and safety needed to meet the high standard for the sole source of nutrition"
A can of Toddler Nutritional Drink is shown on a shelf in a grocery store, Friday, June 17, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
"Feeding an additional 211,000 more babies than before the shortage."
Dad Russell Bleck told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning, July 21, "We use Enfamil Gentlease. We placed an order through the company Buy Buy Baby back in April for 4 cans. It has been delayed 3 months and we still have not received it."
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Bleck added, "I was desperate, so I reached out directly via Instagram to Enfamil just to see if I could buy directly or if they could maybe help us."
"They told me they would see what samples and marketing promos were available and to expect two different things in the mail: a voucher and some formula."
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Bleck also said, "For two weeks I was hopeful some small help was coming while I continued my search for formula around town. Three weeks later I got a $5 voucher (for formula I can't find) and a tiny sample of formula."
He added, "Doctors offices give out larger samples. I know because I've gone to our pediatrician on multiple occasions for formula."
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