Breastfeed Atlanta helps guide local parents amid baby formula crisis

May 19th, 2022

President Joe Biden is taking emergency steps to address the nationwide baby formula shortage.

On Wednesday, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act. Under the act, suppliers are required to prioritize baby formula manufacturers by proving them with formula ingredients first before any of their existing orders.

The Biden administration has also launched Operation Fly Formula to speed up importing baby formulas from overseas.

On Thursday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Christie Coursey, the executive director for Breastfeed Atlanta, told program host Rose Scott that there has never been a baby formula shortage on this scale before.

She further explained that Breastfeed Atlanta has taken calls from mothers who are feeling stressed because they are in desperate need of formula.

“The urge to feed a baby is the most primal natural urge that a mother has, so when they’re unable or fear that they are unable to do that, it invokes, like, absolute panic,” she said.

During the conversation, Coursey talked more about her organization’s response during the formula crisis and shared her thoughts about why Georgia doesn’t have milk banks and the necessary steps to establish one within the state.