The Food Link Emergency Baby Pantry in Annapolis, Maryland, received 7,872 Huggies diapers recently through a partnership with the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) and Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc. (K.I.D.S.). Food Link will distribute the diapers to partner agencies which serve over families throughout Anne Arundel County, including Brooklyn Church of God and the South County’s Lula G. Scott Early Head Start Program.
According to the most recent census, 22 percent of American children live at or below the poverty line. In many cases, their families cannot provide the diapers they need because diapers, which can cost as much as $100 a month, cannot be bought with the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly known as “food stamps”) or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Most childcare programs require parents to provide disposable diapers for their children’s use, so a lack of diapers can keep children out of childcare, forcing their parents to stay home from work. Some parents try to stretch their diaper supply by leaving the children in diapers longer between changes or by reusing disposable diapers, but these measures can affect the health and emotional wellbeing of children and their families. Cloth diapers are not a solution because many families are without out easy access to laundry facilities.
Irenee McElwee, Director of Emergency Outreach for Food Link, said “This donation will allow us to provide diapers to expand our program, to serve more children and to ensure that children have the diapers they need to stay clean, dry and healthy. We are very grateful to the generosity of Huggies, NDBN, and K.I.D.S.”
This donation was made as part of partnership between K.I.D.S. and NDBN to distribute 20 million Huggies brand diapers to families in need throughout the U.S. in 2012.
To address today’s dire need for diapers, every three months, K.I.D.S. and NDBN will distribute five million diapers, donated by Huggies Every Little Bottom, to more than 90 diaper banks, food banks and other such agencies for families in need across the United States. Huggies Every Little Bottom was launched in 2010 with the sole purpose to help address the issue of diaper need in North America. Since its inception, the program has donated more than 60 million diapers toward this cause.
“Diaper need is a silent crisis in the United States. Diapers are a basic need for children, as essential to their health and well-being as food and shelter, yet one in three families in America struggle to provide diapers for their families. We are thrilled to be working with K.I.D.S. and our Founding Sponsor, Huggies’ Every Little Bottom program, to get diapers to those who need them,” said Joanne Goldblum, the Executive Director of NDBN.
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