CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Most Americans blame baby formula manufacturers and supply chain shortages for the ongoing formula crisis, according to a new NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll released Monday.
Across the country, families are struggling to find formula to feed their babies after a February recall led Abbott Nutrition to temporarily close its Michigan manufacturing plant.
More than 65% of survey respondents said they are somewhat or very concerned about the shortage, although voters vary widely on who they think is the culprit for the crisis:
- Supply chain shortages: 29.42%
- Federal government: 20.73%
- Bureaucratic regulations: 8.30%
- Grocery/retail stores: 4.38%
- Baby formula manufacturers: 31.02%
- Local and state governments: 6.16%
“If you look at the baby formula issue, they’re not quite sure who to blame,” said Scott Tranter, adviser at DecisionDesk HQ.
Over the weekend, NewsNation visited more than half a dozen stores in Chicago and each showed signs of the widespread predicament: shelves that should have formula were almost completely bare. What little formula could be found was kept under lock and key. And most stores set strict limits on the amount of formula customers could buy.
One man NewsNation spoke to at a Walgreens said he had already visited five stores before 11 a.m. Sunday with no success. He said he regretted not calling beforehand to see if what he needed was in stock.
“It is an added stress, knowing that we can’t just run to the store in case I get sick, or we need anything,” Emily-Anne Walker, a mother of an 11-week-old baby, told NewsNation earlier this month. For now, Walker is continuing to breastfeed.
After intense pressure from the general public, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., along with President Joe Biden, are mobilizing resources to address the crisis. Over the weekend, Biden signed the Access to Baby Formula Act, a bill that is meant to expand access to baby formula for certain families in need.
Last week, the president invoked the Defense Production Act to jumpstart formula production. It means suppliers will be required to direct resources to infant formula manufacturers before any other customers.
On Sunday, the first 78,000-pound shipment from another effort, Operation Fly Formula, landed in Indianapolis, Indiana. The formula brought over from Europe is enough to fill more than half a million baby bottles.
Experts predict the crisis could last well into June.