After an emergency c-section, Ashleigh Ottley was unable to produce enough breast milk, the 20-year-old from Chilliwack, B.C, says friends and family across the country, as far as Ontario, sends her the formula for her six-month-old son, Colt, so that he could meet his nutritional needs.
She also says that, the Similac formula is the only one Colt can stomach, but it has become very difficult to find at major retailers like Walmart.
As Canadians have a hard time to keep up with the increasing cost of groceries, Ottley and other new parents are feeling an added pinch, as supply shortages, sparked in part by disruptions from U.S. manufacturers, raised the price of formula ever higher.
According to Statistics in Canada, it shows that between September 2022 and September 2023, the price of formula increased more than 20 per cent, from $31 a container to more than $38.
Infant formula has increased in price, which is almost five times more than the average food product in a grocery store since March of 2022,” said Dalhousie University food policy researcher Sylvain Charlebois.
How the skyrocketing cost of baby formula is hurting families who can least afford it.
Ottley says that, each day her son drinks between 24 to 30 ounces of formula, which cost her more than $280 every month.
She says that she had to trim other parts of her budget to afford Colt’s formula.
In a statement, Walmart states that, In the face of ongoing global, industry-wide supply challenges with baby formula, and other market pressures, including double-digit price increases from suppliers over the last two years, we still continue to do our best every day, so that it will make it easier for customers to find formula on a budget.
In spite of these challenges, we have about 90 per cent more inventory in stores, when compared to last year.
Sylvain Charlebois, a food policy researcher at Dalhousie University says that, since there is a reduction in the birth rate in Canada, this will discourage private investment into formula manufacturing in this country.
Health authorities warn parents not to water down formula or try to make their own, as it could be very dangerous.
Health Canada acknowledges that beefing up domestic production of baby formula, could help to alleviate the limited supply and it will work with companies which are interested in manufacturing formula in Canada to help them understand the country’s regulatory regimes.
Food researcher Charlebois says that Canadians are, on average, having less children, which may discourage private investment into formula manufacturing.
New parents are dealing with the increasing cost of baby formula, which has increased much faster than other foods. Some are asking support for babies, mostly because formula production happens outside of Canada.
The Canada Royal Milk plant in Kingston, was built with the understanding that most of the formula it manufactures would be exported to China.
Parents, meanwhile, are reminded that they can also turn to public health services for help.
Jody Street, a public Health nurse says that, nurses are available and can make referrals on people, case-by-case basis, to emergency supports like food banks or other community resources which have available stock of formular.
