WASHINGTON — President Biden announced new deliveries of baby food from Europe on Wednesday as he prepared to meet with top officials at five baby food companies amid an ongoing shortage that has left parents desperate for ways to feed their babies.
Enough Kendamil formula to make about four million bottles will be flown to locations across the United States over the next three weeks, White House officials said in a statement. The statement said United Airlines had agreed to carry the formula free of charge from London’s Heathrow Airport for purchase by parents in stores.
“This first shipment, which includes Kendamil Classic and Kendamil Organic formula, will be available at Target stores nationwide in the coming weeks,” the statement said.
Baby food has been in short supply in the United States for weeks, the result of a decision by the Food and Drug Administration to close a factory operated by Abbott, the leading manufacturer of infant formula in the United States, over contamination concerns.
Families that rely on formula – and especially those with children who require special dairy-free formulations – struggle to find enough to feed their children. Some babies have been sent to hospital for lack of nutrition.
Two weeks ago, the president responded to severe baby food shortages by invoking the Defense Production Act and promising to use the military to accelerate the delivery of baby food from abroad. Since then, officials have said the government has flown the equivalent of 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles to the United States.
Wednesday’s announcement is expected to more than double, officials said.
United Airlines flights will contain enough baby food powder to make approximately 3.2 million eight-ounce bottle equivalents of Kendamil Classic Stage 1 and 540,000 eight-ounce bottle equivalents of Kendamil Organic. Officials said flights will begin on June 9 and last three weeks.
The move comes just days after the FDA eased import regulations to allow Kendal Nutricare, the formula manufacturer, to import formula into the United States under the Kendamil brand.
