Formula - can’t take to food bank

[Sunndays43226]

Hi! My local food banks don’t accept formula and I have 4 packs of the ready made bottles (6 x 200 ml in a pack) that is in date for six months ish and I don’t need! I don’t want it to go to waste! Any suggestions where else I can take it? There’s our local FB page of course but tbh it’s an affluent area and I’d prefer it went to a mum who may need the help more.

Ask the FB if they know who does take it?

Olio

I work at a food bank. We are unable to give out donated formula milk however we pass it on to a local kinship carer group who gladly take it. Your local Foodbank should be able to give you ideas of who may take it

I’d put it on Facebook if the foodbank can’t sign post you to somewhere more appropriate. Just because it’s an affluent area it doesn’t mean people aren’t struggling

it’s lovely of you to donate x

I would put it on your local.fb see if anybody wants it,

Ask the food bank, or put it on Olio or Fb.

If someone affluent takes it many people take a ‘pay it forward’ approach.

Why won’t food banks take formula (assuming it’s in a sealed unused box?

Agreed. We would take it and give it to local health visitors.

Any churches nearby that have a Baby Bank?

Because guidelines are that parents don't chop and change formula types.

Formula is the kind of thing you need a steady supply of so food banks want to avoid families being reliant on them - they would refer you to your health visitor.

Well essentially safety for the baby, the brand might not be suitable and most babies are fed a particular milk so random pre made bottles might not suit then the foodbank is left with formula to dispose of.

When I volunteered at a community foodbank we took tins of formula but it was never taken so stopped taking it, we did take toddler milk.which parents took.

Also you can get formula through healthy start so people don't really need it from.foodbanks.

Scotland has a different name for their scheme but its essentially the same, so parents can get formula.

It's the same reason they can't put stage 1 formula on sale or offers right?

Yes, exactly that

We have a Baby Bank in our area that takes formula, do you have anything like that locally?

That's because there are strict guidelines on the marketing of formula owing to baby milk companies' sharp practice in the past

Just offer it on Fcebook.

Formula companies can permanently reduce the price - they just can't temporarily reduce the price, persuade parents to switch to them, then hike it back up again.
Doing that in the past (and currently in less regulated countries) caused baby deaths.

i second the Olio app

Because giving away free formula can undermine breastfeeding and cause a mum to lose her milk supply. Of a breastfeeding mum is struggling she needs food for herself, not formula for the baby. It’s not about switching brands etc, all formula is nutritionally the same.

What are you talking about?

Thanks everyone. I’ll ask the food bank and HV in the first instance to see if they know of anywhere else.

@PuzzlingRecluse agree that just because it’s an affluent area it doesn’t mean there aren’t people struggling and I probably worded my initial post wrong. I want to avoid posting on FB and an affluent mum snapping up the formula bottles just because I’m offering and why not, as opposed to it really making any difference to her day to day budget that’s all ☺️