Another day... another opportunity for formula bashing. This time in the BMJ news article about our friends at @feedukorg and @bpas1968 ‘s campaign for formula to be accepted and distributed via foodbanks to families in need... https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4449

So here’s the back story... UNICEF are against formula being distributed in foodbanks stating that local authorities should have a clear pathway for formula distribution and that food banks should refer to health visiting and social services of a baby is at risk of not being fed

But health visitors & social workers don’t distribute formula. There can be delays in families accessing provision, some families are suddenly plunged into poverty. Babies need food now. If there wasn’t demand for formula in food banks, we wouldn’t be having this conversation...

So why are UNICEF against it. According to Sue Ashmore BABIES ARE TOO VULNERABLE there are SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES of babies get the wrong type of formula or not enough for their needs ...

Families need the SUPPORT OF TRAINED PROFESSIONALS to ensure a sustainable supply of formula

Really?! Formula is food. Are parents who find themselves in this situation any less capable than those who can afford to buy it without professional supervision in the supermarket? What exactly is this reliable provision of infant formula that health visitors can ensure?

And then Chris Van Tulleken weighs in hand wringing about UNTRAINED PEOPLE and families in the position of asking for help from foodbanks needing PROFESSIONAL HELP....

They need money and food.

AND THEN HORROR HORROR HORROR... brace yourselves. Helen Crawley from First Steps Nutrition says families of children over the age of 1 ask for formula too even though they don’t need it.

Now to be clear, of course formula should be prioritised for babies...

But in the event of there being available formula, should it be withheld in principle from an over 1 year old?

Many foods donated to food banks aren’t ideal for small children (no judgement, just the nature of dried food)... so you guys...DEEP BREATH IN...you ready for this...

You know how breastmilk does not suddenly lose it’s nutritional value when a baby hits 1 ....

Neither does formula!

Why shouldn’t formula be part of a small child‘ s diet, especially if that small child’s family are unable to put fresh food on the table because of poverty?

You can breathe out now...

Then Rosie McNee from Feed points out that the current pathways aren’t working for all families and that UNICEF’s suggestion that foodbanks give families money to buy formula is just not how foodbanks operationally run!

And to wrap up, Amy Brown from Swansea adds that 80% breastfeeding mothers she surveyed via her own social media channels during lockdown report seeing formula advertising on social media.

And this is relevant to families in poverty... how?

We think it is a national disgrace that families are increasingly reliant on foodbanks. If there’s demand for formula in foodbanks, to see organisations who have primarily concerned themselves with breastfeeding rates denying families access to food is unconscionable.