Sangamon Sun

Illinois State Sen. Sally Turner (R-Beason) recently announced a baby formula drive to provide relief to parents facing formula shortages.

Turner announced the drive in a June 21 post to Facebook. In the post, Turner asked donors to "check their pantries for unopened, unused and unexpired baby formula to donate to the drive."

"We are also asking that people do not purchase new formula from stores to avoid making the situation worse for parents seeking it," Turner wrote in the post.

On her website, Turner called the drive an opportunity for people in the community who are looking for an opportunity to help parents in need of formula.

“Anyone who has extra, or unneeded baby formula can bring it to my office in Lincoln and we will make sure that the formula gets to people in need," she stated. Her office will accept donations between 8 a.m. and 4:40 p.m., Monday-Thursday, according to her Facebook post.

On May 17, the Pritzker administration released a statement on the baby formula shortage. 

“The ongoing formula shortage has brought undue stress into the lives of new parents, and my administration will do everything in our power to help families maintain access to formula,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “We’ve partnered with our suppliers and continue to ramp up our support centers to ensure our residents, especially low-income families, have what they need to care for their babies.”

The Illinois Department of Human Services has also compiled a list of resources for families and those who are seeking to help others; it can be found on the agency's website. Visitors can find that information here.