Dayton mother starts social media group to connect families with baby formula

Minnesota families are stepping up to help others in need by using a new social media resource that is connecting families with baby formula.

The group is called Formula Finder – MN, and it was started just last week by a Dayton mother.

Tosha Anderson and her husband have been struggling to find formula for their baby, and decided to create the group to help connect parents across the state.

“The hunt for formula is crazy right now because of the shortage, and as we started to look into it a little more, we realized there’s a huge problem of people basically just wasting time because they’re driving from store to store to store and coming up empty handed,” said Anderson.

Within a week, the page has blown up, and now has more than 3,300 members who are able to help, or are looking to find formula themselves.

The page has three different boards people can post to.

First, there’s the store inventory board, where people can post which stores across the state have formula available.

The second board is for Extras on Hand, where people can post what they have to donate.

The third one, the Urgent Need Board, is for families with less than three days worth of formula, and can post asking for immediate help.

“They’re about to run out of their last can, they’re on their last bottle for many people, and so it just kind of helps us prioritize who do we need to help first,” said Anderson.

Anderson says the response has been incredible, and they’re getting more members every day – including people who are willing to drop everything to drive all over the state to get families the formula they need.

“It’s just been crazy to see the response. Even for people… there’s a lot of people on WIC and so they’re desperate to find it in store so that they can use their WIC account, and there’s people who are saying it was $20 for most people but because you’re on WIC and you can’t find it, just have it,” she added.

She says she’s blown away by the generosity she’s seeing.

“It has been absolutely incredible. I mean, we see stories all the time in our group of ‘oh this was just given away’, or ‘this person is driving an hour and a half to give someone formula’, and it just continues to blow my husband and I away of how generous people are in a time of need like this.

If you want to join the group – either to help or to get help finding formula, CLICK HERE.