What to do with unwanted formula?

[TiltTopTable]

I really don't want to throw 8 x bottles of ready-mix Aptamil formula away, but nobody wants it. I've contacted 2 food banks locally - no reply, and just now I tried to list them for free on fb marketplace but got a message saying the listing goes against their rules. I bought them to give my granddaughter when my daughter needed a stay in hospital and we ran out of expressed milk. It seems such a waste to dump them.

@Tk5787338

I put mine on a local Facebook group and someone was happy to have it; groups are different to Facebook marketplace and the local one I’m on didn’t have an issue with me posting on it

That's interesting, we have a local fb group.

@Leeds2

Try your local Home Start.

I did speak to my local Home Start as I used to volunteer for them. They wouldn't take it.

I'm on a fb page called "I need a whisk...." no idea why it's called that but there's loads of them in different local areas. People offer things they don't need and people come collect them....all for free! Try seeing if there's one near you. Someone might be grateful to save a bit of money on milk!

The reason food banks can't give it away is because of the WHO code about marketing formula.

Basically, it's unethical to give away free formula, particularly in any official capacity unless you're committing to provide formula for the entire time that a baby needs it. Obviously a food bank wouldn't be doing this maliciously. But the rule comes because Nestlé (among other companies, but they are well known for it) would hand out free samples of formula in developing countries just long enough for the mothers' milk to dry up so that they were dependent on it, and then the free samples stopped so the mothers had to pay. Many of them could not afford to and so stretched out formula much more thinly than is advised or purchased inappropriate substitutes like dried whole milk or condensed milk, and babies died due to malnutrition.

That is not what's happening at food banks, but it's still in the code to prevent extreme situations like that from happening. In addition most food banks are run by volunteers and won't have a full selection of all the possible types of formula that babies may need which may result in babies being provided/fed inappropriate formula, if the parents think they have no other alternative and it will be better than nothing.

If anyone is struggling to afford formula, speak to your health visitor or GP - the food banks should also be referring people here if they ask for formula - they can sort out donations or discount vouchers (in addition to healthy start vouchers if the family is not already receiving them) but in a controlled and appropriate way.

(This is not comparable / relevant to someone offering a small amount of a specific brand for free on a local FB page of course! But food banks etc need to be careful about what they are giving out when it comes to formula.)

OP, I’d put it on the pavement with a sign saying Unopened, free to take.

I run a food bank. In our area we received instructions from the local council not to hand out formula. Nothing to do with WHO. The HV team was concerned that food banks (many of which are informal/volunteer-led) don’t have a consistent supply of formula (esp those relying on donations), can’t rely on volunteers to distinguish formula from follow-on milk from whatever else, don’t want to rely on food banks to filter out out of date formula (we receive lots of out of date products and do look out for this, but obviously the consequences with formula can be very serious), and that even all that aside handing out formula often means that families who do need additional support/currently aren’t engaging with the school/MW/healthcare system fall through the cracks entirely. Which they do - I had an eight month pregnant asylum seeker on my books at some point; no English at all, and I suspect if we hadn’t referred her on, with her permission, that baby would’ve been born on the bathroom floor of temp accommodation.

Frankly, I agree with it as a policy (and I have made urgent HV referrals and seen them acted on pronto). The families wanting formula often do need additional support in feeding their families and food banks aren’t in the best position to provide it.

I'm in a similar predicament, and I contacted the salvation army and they emailed me back saying they might be able to take it. I've got to ring them though.
Olio might work?

@EssentialHummus

OP, I’d put it on the pavement with a sign saying Unopened, free to take.

I run a food bank. In our area we received instructions from the local council not to hand out formula. Nothing to do with WHO. The HV team was concerned that food banks (many of which are informal/volunteer-led) don’t have a consistent supply of formula (esp those relying on donations), can’t rely on volunteers to distinguish formula from follow-on milk from whatever else, don’t want to rely on food banks to filter out out of date formula (we receive lots of out of date products and do look out for this, but obviously the consequences with formula can be very serious), and that even all that aside handing out formula often means that families who do need additional support/currently aren’t engaging with the school/MW/healthcare system fall through the cracks entirely. Which they do - I had an eight month pregnant asylum seeker on my books at some point; no English at all, and I suspect if we hadn’t referred her on, with her permission, that baby would’ve been born on the bathroom floor of temp accommodation.

Frankly, I agree with it as a policy (and I have made urgent HV referrals and seen them acted on pronto). The families wanting formula often do need additional support in feeding their families and food banks aren’t in the best position to provide it.

Thank you for this explanation. I understand and agree with the stance taken by food banks, it's just such a shame that there must be so much formula going to waste. I'm retired so can spend time sorting this, but there must be so many new mums with formula they no longer need but don't have the time to find a home for.

@EssentialHummus

OP, I’d put it on the pavement with a sign saying Unopened, free to take.

I run a food bank. In our area we received instructions from the local council not to hand out formula. Nothing to do with WHO. The HV team was concerned that food banks (many of which are informal/volunteer-led) don’t have a consistent supply of formula (esp those relying on donations), can’t rely on volunteers to distinguish formula from follow-on milk from whatever else, don’t want to rely on food banks to filter out out of date formula (we receive lots of out of date products and do look out for this, but obviously the consequences with formula can be very serious), and that even all that aside handing out formula often means that families who do need additional support/currently aren’t engaging with the school/MW/healthcare system fall through the cracks entirely. Which they do - I had an eight month pregnant asylum seeker on my books at some point; no English at all, and I suspect if we hadn’t referred her on, with her permission, that baby would’ve been born on the bathroom floor of temp accommodation.

Frankly, I agree with it as a policy (and I have made urgent HV referrals and seen them acted on pronto). The families wanting formula often do need additional support in feeding their families and food banks aren’t in the best position to provide it.

So nice to see the explanation here! So often formula is frowned upon so nice to understand it's about support not judgement!

emerald honestly, if someone came in and was simply short of the money to buy a tub of formula that week I’d break the rules, go to Sainsbury’s and buy it for them out of my own pocket. But it’s very rarely that.