Voters Are Concerned About the Baby Formula Shortage
By Sabrina Jacobs and Grace Adcox
The current baby formula shortage has left many parents scrambling to find formula and struggling to feed their children. Due to recent recalls and supply chain issues, the shortage has now reached a critical level. Many stores are sold out of formula and increased demand has caused prices to skyrocket, which has greatly affected lower-income families.
The baby formula shortage has caused national concern and has rightfully gained significant media attention. A new poll by Data for Progress finds 94 percent of voters have heard about the shortage, indicating this issue is highly salient.
We also find 84 percent of voters are worried about parents not being able to find and purchase baby formula, including 86 percent of Democrats, 83 percent of Independents, and 84 percent of Republicans (despite nearly 200 Republicans in the House voting against a bill that would provide funding to the FDA to address the shortage).
Voters also support measures that would ensure baby formula can quickly and safely get back on the shelves. Eighty-two percent of voters agree that we should import additional baby formula products from abroad after the FDA ensures these products are safe.
Additionally, 88 percent of voters think we should crack down on unfair price gouging and reselling of limited available baby formula products to ensure all families can purchase limited stock. This includes 90 percent of Democrats, 85 percent of Independents, and 85 percent of Republicans.
The formula shortage has helped expose the inequality in maternal health and support. Many mothers cannot afford to take long periods of unpaid leave from work, so they have to give up breastfeeding in favor of formula. Eighty-three percent of voters, including Democrats by a +82-point margin, Independents by a +73-point margin, and Republicans by a +68-point margin, believe we should expand the number of baby formula products that low-income families can purchase with government food and nutrition benefits to ensure access to affordable formula.
While not everyone is directly affected by the baby formula shortage, voters agree that it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Among the 6 percent of voters who indicate they are the parents of infants, 57 percent say they or their family have struggled to find formula.
Data for Progress asked voters what they think about the formula shortage. Many express concern and emphasize that the decision whether to breastfeed or use formula is not always simple:
“Breastfeeding isn't always a choice.”
“Formula is the most commonly shoplifted item and that says a lot about how our country cares for its citizens.”
“Formula should be available to anyone who needs or wants to use it.”
“I completely breastfed my child but I know parents who are struggling and scared that their baby will go hungry. I feel their fears.”
“I have a coworker who can only buy a certain baby formula. Her child cannot drink breast milk and other formulas. She has to buy the formula needed in bulk to ensure that her child will be fed.”
“It doesn't impact me directly, but I empathize with mothers with babies needing formula. I don't know what I would have done if this had been the case when I had my 4 children.”
“I have empathy for the parents of hungry infants. Every mother does not always have the ability to breastfeed.”
“I'm not a parent but I understand how important it can be for families to have access to this necessary care, especially low-income and addiction-affected mothers.”
In order to purchase formula, 13 percent of voters who identify as parents of infants have reduced household spending and 21 percent have switched their baby to solid foods earlier than they otherwise would have. Over one-third of parents with the option to breastfeed have also reported giving their children more breast milk or exclusively breast milk to keep their children from going hungry. Thirty-one percent of voters have had to search for formula where they normally wouldn’t, such as by going to stores much farther away from where they live. For many families, this can be very difficult to do if they don’t have someone to watch their child or if they can’t take time off from work.
The baby formula shortage is a crisis and it's important that we find a solution so families and babies don’t continue to suffer. Voters overwhelmingly support federal action to solve this crisis, and we must take the opportunity now to help families access the food their children desperately need. By cracking down on price gouging, making baby formula products available to low-income families, and approving imported baby formula, we can make the lives of families affected by the shortage easier.
Sabrina Jacobs is a digital fellow at Data for Progress.
Grace Adcox is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.