For e-commerce, the government would have to waive this requirement for states. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images) Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Imagesįormula production at Abbott's Michigan plant delayed after flooding from severe stormsįederal law requires that WIC recipients sign their name or enter a PIN number at the time they receive their groceries. The company initiated a voluntary recall after two infants became sick and two died with traces of Cronobacter sakazakii, a common environmental bacteria, found in their systems after consuming formula produced in the plant. Abbott representatives announced on Wednesday that the Sturgis plant could reopen within the next two weeks, subject to FDA approval. The Abbott manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan, on May 13, 2022. The reasons for that are legal and technological. Most won’t begin until 2023, according to the United States Department of Agriculture and state health departments involved in the pilot project. Seven states – Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Washington, South Dakota and Nevada – have gotten funding for pilot programs that would make e-commerce possible for their WIC families, but those programs are months away from starting. “We’ve searched from the beaches to the mountains and can’t find anything,” Hankins says. They fan out and take photos to post to the group to save other parents some time. Hankins is a member of a Facebook group for moms in her area that are looking for formula. More painful, though, is that WIC recipients can’t use their benefits to buy formula online at retailers like Amazon or that would ship it directly to their homes.Īccording to the US Department of Agriculture, no states currently allow WIC recipients to use their benefits online, although some are trying to move in that direction.įor now, families have to drive, sometimes for hours, to find formula on the shelves of stores that will accept their benefits. Vicki HankinsĪbout half the baby formula purchased in the United States is purchased through the WIC program.įamilies who use WIC can only buy formula at retailers that accept their benefits, and that sometimes puts warehouse stores like Sam’s Club or big box stores like Target out of reach. Vicki Hankins said she can usually find her son's formula for sale online, but WIC benefits only cover the cost if she finds it on store shelves.

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