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A28 u.s. news
Diasabra 14 Mei 2022

Baby formula shortage fueling spike in milk bank interest

because of the shortage has more than that. “crisis” and said it’s not as
spiked. Typically, the milk simple as parents just supple-
bank gets about 30-50 calls “I’m vey blessed with being menting with donated hu-
a month from people look- able to produce milk, so I man milk, because the vast
ing to donate. On Thursday just felt I needed to do some- majority of those supplies are
alone, 35 calls came in from thing,” she said. earmarked for babies with
potential donors, said Debo- medical conditions.
rah Youngblood, the bank’s She said in the past she has
executive director. shipped her frozen milk in “If people can donate, now
special containers to Denver, would be the time because
“It’s interesting the first sort but this time, her local hospi- when we have more of an in-
of response that we got was tal is taking the donations and ventory we can look beyond
from potential donors — so she can just drop them off. the medically fragile,” she
people responding to the for- said.
mula shortage with sort of an It’s not just donors, though.
amazing, compassionate re- Parents desperately seeking Parents are also turning to
sponse of how can I be part nutrition for their babies are online breastmilk-swapping
(AP) - The U.S. baby for- The shortage stemmed from of the solution?” she said. pursuing milk banks as well. forums to meet their babies’
mula shortage has sparked a safety recall and supply dis- needs.
a surge of interest at milk ruptions and has captured Youngblood was talking At the Massachusetts milk
banks around the U.S. national attention with pan- about people like Kayla Gil- bank, about 30 people called Amanda Kastelein, a moth-
with some mothers offer- icked parents looking to swap lespie, a 38-year-old mother looking for milk because they er of three from Middle-
ing to donate breast milk and buy formula online and of three from Hays, Kansas. couldn’t find their baby’s bury, Connecticut, has been
and desperate parents President Joe Biden urging Gillespie first donated to the usual formula, Youngblood supplementing the spe-
calling to see if it’s a solu- manufacturers to increase Mothers’ Milk Bank in Den- said. That’s up from nearly cial formula she needs for
tion to keep their babies production and discussing ver six years ago, giving 18 no calls at all, since the milk 10-month-old Emerson with
fed. with retailers how they could gallons (68 liters) after the bank typically serves hospi- breast milk from a mom
restock shelves to meet re- birth of her first child, and tals. she found on a peer-to-peer
It’s a pathway that won’t work gional disparities. Biden’s wasn’t planning to do it again. Facebook page called Human
for every formula-fed baby, administration also said Fri- The Human Milk Bank- Milk 4 Human Babies.
especially those with special day that formula maker Ab- “I thought 18 gallons was suf- ing Association of North
dietary needs, and it comes bott Laboratories commit- ficient for one person,” she America, an accrediting or- Kastelein stopped breastfeed-
with challenges because the ted to give rebates through said. “If I hadn’t heard of the ganization for nonprofit milk ing after getting recurring
country’s dozens of non- August for a food stamp-like shortage, I wouldn’t be going banks, is seeing a “major in- infections, but tried to begin
profit milk banks prioritize program that helps women, through the process again, crease” in demand, according re-lactating in March after
feeding medically fragile in- infants and children called just because I have three kids to Lindsay Groff, the group’s the formula recall, with little
fants. The organizations col- WIC. and it’s a little chaotic around executive director. She esti- success.
lect milk from mothers and here.” mates inquiries from parents
process it, including through At the Mothers’ Milk Bank seeking to fill the formula gap “Emerson is allergic to most
pasteurization, then work Northeast, based in Newton, She has pledged at least 150 are up 20% in recent days. of the formulas, so it’s been
with hospitals to distribute it. Massachusetts, interest in ounces of her milk, but said difficult to find something
donating and receiving milk she expects to give much Groff called the shortage a he’s not allergic to,” she said.

Agency unanimously rejects California desalination project

(AP) — A California believe that this desalination conscience that this amount construction vests and toted pecially dry this year and as a
coastal panel on Thursday project would have created a of damage is OK.” signs saying “support desal!” result 95% of the state is clas-
rejected a long-standing sustainable, drought-tolerant sified as in severe drought.
proposal to build a $1.4 source of water.” Other critics said the water Opponents carried signs
billion seawater desalina- would be too expensive and reading “No Poseidon” and Newsom last summer urged
tion plant to turn Pacific The vote came after a heated wasn’t urgently needed in the “Do not $ell our coast” and residents to cut consumption
Ocean water into drinking meeting before the commis- area where it would be built, included a woman who wore by 15%, but since then water
water as the state grapples sion attended by dozens of which is less dependent on a plankton costume and held usage has dropped by only
with persistent drought supporters and critics of the state and federal water due to a sign reading “I am a plank- about 3%. Some areas have
that is expected to worsen plan. It was considered a cru- an ample aquifer and water ton — please do not kill me!” begun instituting generally
in coming years with cli- cial decision on the future of recycling program. mild restrictions such as lim-
mate change. the plant after years of other California has spent most of iting how many days lawns
hearings and delays. Commissioners cited those the last 15 years in drought can be watered. More strin-
The state’s Coastal Commis- issues in following a staff rec- conditions. Its normal wet gent restrictions are likely
sion voted unanimously to Poseidon’s long-running ommendation and rejecting season that runs from late fall later in the year.
deny a permit for Poseidon proposal was supported by the proposal. They also cited to the end of winter was es-
Water to build a plant to pro- Gov. Gavin Newsom but the energy cost of running
duce 50 million gallons of faced ardent opposition from the plant and the fact that it
water a day in Huntington environmentalists who said would sit in an earthquake
Beach, southeast of Los An- drawing in large amounts fault zone.
geles. of ocean water and releasing
salty discharge back into the Before voting, the 12-mem-
Poseidon said it was disap- ocean would kill billions of ber commission heard hours
pointed in the decision. tiny marine organisms that of comments from scores of
make up the base of the food people packed into a hotel
“California continues to face chain along a large swath of meeting room in the Orange
a punishing drought, with the coast. County city of Costa Mesa in
no end in sight,” a company addition to those tuning in
statement said. “Every day, “The ocean is under attack” online.
we see new calls for conser- from climate change already,
vation as reservoir levels drop Commissioner Dayna Boch- At the meeting, support-
to dangerous lows. We firmly co said. “I cannot say in good ers wore orange and yellow