Making Sense of the Infant Formula Shortage

Abstract

Purchasing infant formula became an enormous challenge beginning in early 2022 for families throughout the United States. Faced with a myriad of other challenges in raising newborns came the unexpected reality of not having food in stores that their infants needed to thrive. Quickly, blame was assessed, and less quickly, government and industry solutions to increase supply were set in motion, but the actions taken have not fully resolved shortages. Even more than a year and a half after the severe shortages began, little effort has been made to develop long-term solutions to formula supply issues. It is time for the nutrition community to seriously consider this issue as a major policy agenda and recognize that healthy childhood nutrition starts with secure feeding for all infants regardless of mode or content of feeding. In this article, we will explore what needs to be done in this regard and where the barriers are to implementing long-term solutions to both the formula shortage and supporting breastfeeding families.