Do you live near a store that still has some baby formula on the shelves? Are any of those canisters the powdered version of Enfamil NeuroPro EnfaCare? (Photo above. It has to be this kind, and it has to be the powdered one.) Do you feel like helping out a preemie foster kid? (You’ll be reimbursed!)
If you answered yes to those questions, let me know! Email, text, DM, whatever! My colleagues, Marcella and David, have been fostering a baby who was born prematurely, and they’re down to their last can-and-a-half of the type of formula that the baby needs. Here is what Marcella says:
“Hi everyone!
“So, I think most of you know by now that David and I became foster parents in April. We have room for 3 kids in our home and the second we were approved we filled up fast!
“We do emergency placement (21 days or less) and long term placement (6 months or longer).
“We currently have 2 long term placements, a 17 yr old and a 2 month old. The 2 month old has been with us since the moment she left the hospital at 2 weeks old.
“I’m not sure who has been following the news on baby formula but there is a huge shortage. It has been harder and harder for us to find the specific formula that the baby needs because she was premature.
“David and I have done EVERYTHING that we can think of to keep her fed.
“We’ve tried Amazon, eBay, the manufacturer website, CVS, Walgreens, Aldi, Walmart, Vons, Albertsons, sketchy websites, etc.
“We’ve driven almost an hour just to get the 1 can left in a store multiple times. We search within 50 miles of our home.
“We have family in Oregon and Florida and even searched in those areas to see if we can have them pick up the formula in their area and ship it to us.
“We search every day, multiple times a day. It keeps me up at night.
“We’re currently down to 1.5 cans of formula. Each can lasts about 3 days. Why are we posting this? Well we’re asking to see if anyone sees this specific formula in your area, if you can pick it up for us and ship it to us.
“We are NOT looking for donations. We are completely capable of paying and will pay for shipping happily even for only 1 can since that will keep the baby fed for another 3 days.
“Our Social worker up to this point doesn’t even know how we’ve been able to keep stocked as long as we have since other foster parents are struggling with the special formulas like this one.
“Switching a baby to a different formula can wreck havoc on their system and we’re trying to prevent that. Plus, the other formulas do not have the additional calories that she needs that is in this formula. When you’re shopping for groceries or at a CVS/Walgreens or scheduling an order for pickup or delivery we would be extremely grateful if you can keep an eye out for this formula: Enfamil NeuroPro EnfaCare
“Yes, we even tried changing our Amazon to Amazon Canada (since that is floating around on social media) to try and get formula from Canada. We still can’t get it.
“We feel weird asking but, we’re starting to get desperate.
“We will seriously be eternally grateful.”
If you see this at your local store, grab it and let me know!
David and I greatly appreciate your help in this and taking the time to share some of our struggle (that a LOT of parents are having). As Foster parents, we just don’t have the option to breastfeed and we can’t risk the health of the baby by trying experimental home recipes or goat milk (which is ALL over the internet).
We feel blessed to have people like you in our lives that can help. You immediately responded and it just shows what a caring person you are.
We received the cans that your parents found and we’ve definitely been able to sleep better at night!
Thank you, a million times over.