DES MOINES, Iowa — The hunt for baby formula is on in the Des Moines metro area as many parents like Kaylie Johansen are desperate to find formula for their babies.
"Last week, the week before I went to seven stores in one day, and I still didn't find a single thing," said Kaylie Johansen.
When asked about Johansen's hopes for her child's daily routine she explains one step she believes is nonnegotiable.
"'Fed is best' is what I always like to say, formula makes the world go round as well. Of course, as a parent, that's very scary, you never want to have to worry about how you're going to feed your child. and, you know, it kind of fills you with some guilt, unfortunately," Johansen said.
Abbey Hall is a Doula, while helping coach young parents through the birthing process she found a way to help local parents through the national formula shortage, too.
"I started a formula splatting group. It's called DSM formula spotters, I just saw a lot of different groups, people weren't posting that they were either looking for formula, or they had found it in different places," Hall said.
Hall sees the page as a way to minimize the time in a situation that doesn't allow for much of it.
"I wanted to have a singular place where families can go where they're looking, or people that are out shopping, can just snap a picture and you know, show what the current aisle looks like," she said.
The response from the page grows every day helping moms like Johansen secure formula, giving them a little relief in this trying situation.
"That formula finder has been really helpful as well. That way you don't have to drive to, you know, seven stores in a day or, you know, call and harass multiple stores," Johansen said.
If you are a parent in the Des Moines metro and are a struggling member of the search party for formula, Abbey encourages you to join the Facebook page. If you are not a parent, and just went to send pictures of store shelf updates, she encourages you to join and help out, too.