MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) – For months, the Mid-South FoodBank has been building up its inventory for its new Bare Needs Diaper Bank thatwill start distribution on February 1st.
For struggling families, the costs of diapers can pile up quickly.The diaper bank hopes to help mitigate the costs.
“Diapers can cost over $100 a month just for one child. Soonce you provide that, you free up money that can be able to pay bills or forhealthcare, for food, or other essentials,” Bare Needs Diaper BankDirector Shari Douglas said.
For months, Douglas and the food bank building up its supplies.During a September drive, they collected more than 50,000 diapers fromcommunity donations. The Shelby County Commission also granted them $200,000 tojump start the inventory.
So far, the diaper bank has partnered with nine local agencies.They’ll provide the agencies packages of diapers so they can distribute to theclients.
The diaper bank is also collecting wipes and female sanitaryproducts. Diapers, wipes and sanitary products are considered luxury goods andnot covered by government assistance programs.
“A lot of people didn’t really realize the need for it. Whenyou think of people that have low-income, that are in low-income situations,they usually think about they need food or they need shelter, or they needthings like that. But they don’t realize the small things that can really makea difference,” Douglas said.
In the Mid-South, Douglas said, there are 14,000 babies under theage of three live in poverty. She said ensuring they all have clean diapers isimportant to their well-being.
“If a child doesn’t have a clean diaper, it’s going to causedevelopmental delays, it’s going to cause stress with the mothers and thefamilies, it leads to diaper rash and other health issues. So something sosmall is really important to just the beginning stages of a child’s life,”Douglas said.
The diaper bank is always looking for donations. A $1 donation equals seven diapers it can buy.