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.

If a breastfeeding mum is struggling she might well need formula, to feed her baby while she either gets some support, or starts to switch to formula.

Unfortunately feeding the mum doesn't resolve all breastfeeding problems 🙄

If a breastfeeding mum supplements with formula it reduces her milk supply, making it more likely that she’ll stop breastfeeding and switch to formula completely. Not only is this detrimental to the health of mum and baby, it’s an added financial strain.

Food banks are there to provide nutrition for those in financial distress, they are not there to help mums struggling with breastfeeding. A mum that needs help with breastfeeding issues needs to get breastfeeding support, not formula

Some food banks do take it, they just don’t use it themselves, rather pass it on via things like social media to people who use that specific type

Yes I understand this what has that to do with donated milk, if someone chooses to formula feed their child that has nothing to do with anything.

They’ve all got the same ingredients - by law.

I don’t know how to explain it in simpler terms. It’s not about refusing to give formula to existing formula fed babies, it’s about not giving it to breastfeeding mums.

Oh I didn’t know this. That’s a shame. I took two large unopened tubs of Aptimil to our local food bank. It was unstaffed so I left them on the counter.

They won't have ditched it, it will go to local outreach teams etc .

Thank you 🙏🏻

Maybe some breast feeding mums want to switch to formula without someone saying they can't.

Not everyone wants to or can breastfeed, you loon.

If a mum makes an informed choice to switch to formula that’s no one’s business but her own. If she switches to formula because her supply has been compromised by formula supplements she’s given because she got a free run from the food bank, that’s not ok. Do you see the difference??

But surely the food bank would only give the formula to parents who were formula feeding? They're not just going to see a baby and chuck formula in the bag are they? Maybe they are, I haven't worked in one but it would seem unusual. And as a mum who ff one and bf the other, if someone had given me formula while bfing I would have either given it back or passed it on to someone else, not just given it to my baby because I could, so presumably any mums who did likely were looking/wanting to swap anyway?

As a PP said, I expect it's entirely to do with not wanting to create a dependency/getting grief if a chosen brand isn't available one week than anything else.

What you need is a baby bank, OP. They'll snap your hand off have a Google and I'm sure you'll find one in your area 😊

If you are using a food bank you are likely stressed and struggling. If you are offered formula under those circumstances you may use it even if you’re breastfeeding.