Cassandra Shedden, a 33-year-old mother of three from Thunder Bay, Ontario, has found herself searching her home for items to sell in order to afford baby formula. Shedden expressed her frustration at the current high prices of formula, which have surged by nearly 84% since 2017 and 30% in the last two years, according to Statistics Canada.
Struggling to make ends meet, Shedden often faces tough choices between paying bills and ensuring her children are fed. To supplement her income from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and other government assistance, Shedden sometimes takes on extra work as a delivery driver.
Shedden’s six-month-old daughter, Charlotte, relies solely on formula due to weight gain issues. Despite her efforts to breastfeed, Shedden now spends between $90 to $120 per week on formula, opting for the cheapest available brand, which lasts only about three days.
The growing financial strain on parents for formula is becoming increasingly evident in social media groups, with many individuals seeking assistance to afford basic necessities like formula until their next benefit payments arrive. Lisa Ierullo, a Thunder Bay resident, has received requests for urgent formula aid late at night and has provided financial assistance to mothers in need.
Lesley Frank, a Canada Research Chair at Acadia University, has been studying the challenges surrounding the cost and accessibility of baby formula for nearly two decades. She highlights the emergence of online platforms where desperate parents seek formula assistance, indicating a troubling trend in the struggle to afford essential nutrition for infants.
Frank advocates for increasing the Canada child benefit and implementing food entitlements for breastfeeding women and young children to alleviate the burden of formula costs. She also suggests domestic production of formula in Canada to reduce dependency on the U.S. market, emphasizing the need for government intervention to secure the supply chain and ensure affordability for Canadian families.
