Can You Donate Formula Milk?
Published March 17, 2023
Being a parent is already hard enough. But for some families, having to worry about what to feed their babies makes it all the more challenging.
According to this article, the recent formula shortage has hit low-income families the hardest. With fewer formula milk on store shelves, parents are scrambling to stack up their supplies. This led formula milk prices to skyrocket, making it less affordable for low-income families.
So if you’re wondering if you can donate formula milk, the short answer is you can. In fact, doing so will be a huge help for parents struggling to find or buy formula milk.
However, you can’t just donate any can of formula milk you have lying in your pantry. Most charitable organizations will only accept unopened and unexpired formula milk. As a side note, the CDC recommends not donating formula milk in emergency situations when relief organizations handle this.
So if you have some extra cans of formula milk you’d like to donate, here’s where and how you can do so.
Where Can You Donate Formula Milk?
Here are some of the charitable organizations that accept formula milk donations:
1. Salvation Army
Most Salvation Army branches have family services or infant care programs that provide basic needs to families with infant children. Sometimes, they also partner with local food pantries to distribute infant needs to families affected by disasters. Some branches also offer donation pick-up services.
So if you want to donate, coordinate with your local Salvation Army first to see if they’re accepting baby formulas and make pick-up arrangements, if any.
2. Baby2Baby
Based in Los Angeles, Baby2Baby is a non-profit organization that provides essential items to children in need all over the country. Aside from diapers and formula milk, they also distribute clothes, wipes, and other hygiene items. Most of the children they’re helping are in homeless shelters, foster care, and hospitals. They also support children in domestic violence programs and underserved schools.
To donate formula milk, you can either host a donation drive or drop off your donations at one. Get in touch with them to know if they have any active donation drives in your area.
4. Free Formula Exchange
As the name suggests, this program connects parents wanting to donate formula milk to parents in need of them. The transaction is completely free of charge. Any monetary exchange between the donor and recipient is also strictly prohibited.
The best thing about this program is you can directly communicate with the families in need of those formulas. So you’ll know who gets to benefit from your donation.
To make a donation, just go to their website and click on the “Donate Formula” button. You’ll be taken to a page that lists down the formula brands that families are requesting as well as the location of those making the request. Just click on the listing that matches the brand you have, and you’ll be given instructions on how to get in touch with that family.
5. Local Charities
If you want your donation to benefit your local community, you can also look for local charities that accept formula donations like:
- Coahoma County Diaper Bank – Clarksdale, Mississippi
- Greater DC Diaper Bank – Washington, DC
- Moms Helping Moms – Warren, New Jersey
- WeeCycle – Colorado
- L.I.F.E. Houston – Houston, Texas
- Homeless Prenatal Program – San Francisco, California
You can also reach out to your local food pantries and homeless shelters to know if they’re accepting infant formula donations.
Some Words of Caution When Donating Formula Milk
Before donating an infant formula, here are some things you need to know:
1. Make sure it’s unopened and unexpired
For sanitary and safety reasons, charities only accept unopened and unexpired formula milk. So make sure that the milk you’re donating has never been opened and is still within its expiry date.
2. Don’t donate formula milk in emergency situations
The CDC has put out a warning against donating formula milk in emergency situations. They cited that donating formula in these instances may cause more harm than good because:
- Families tend to water down the milk to make it last longer. This can be dangerous as it deprives children of the necessary nutrients they need leading to malnutrition.
- It can lead to formula dependency, which can lower a breastfeeding mother’s milk supply.
- It can discourage breastfeeding moms and make them think that their breastmilk isn’t enough.
If you want to help families affected by disasters, you can also reach out to charitable organizations to know of other ways you can help.
3. Follow proper storage protocols
Most infant formula brands have specific storage instructions. They usually need to be stored in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight. Otherwise, they can go bad and may even pose certain health risks for the baby.
Donate To The Poor & Homeless Of South Florida
Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen has fed the poor and homeless in South Florida over 900,000 hot meals since 1993. Our tax deductible non profit organization also accepts and distributes donations such as clothing, toiletries, shoes, bicycles, and more. You can donate to help the poor and homeless through our website.
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About The Author
Judy Ponio is a professional writer and devoted Christian. She has a passion for writing about topics related to morality and helping the poor and homeless. She is the lead author for the Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen blog.
Correct Digital, Inc is paid by private donors to provide website digital marketing services to this non-profit organization.
