Diapers, a basic need for babies, are looked upon the same as cigarettes, liquor, and pet food when it comes to using food stamps and WIC for purchase.
National Diaper Need Awareness Week closes on Sunday, Oct. 2, but the mission of eliminating diaper need in America is ongoing, according to St. Louis Area Diaper Bank Executive Director Muriel Smith.
“It costs an average of $100 each month to diaper a single baby, and one in three U.S. families struggle with this expense,” she said.
[Our organization] diligently works throughout the year to ensure families have access to clean diapers and other necessities because it is crucial in helping children thrive.”
The St. Louis non-profit Diaper Bank, which also provides period products, is a part of the National Diaper Bank Network [NDBN], a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to eliminating diaper need in America.
The 2021 Fill the Warehouse fundraising drive collected almost 130,000 diapers, and the goal for the month long drive this year is 150,000.
The St. Louis diaper drives also “provide individuals, organizations, communities, and elected officials the opportunity to engage in real talk and simple actions while drawing national attention to the issue of diaper need,” said Smith.
Fill the Warehouse will host a physical diaper drive and collect donations at 6141 Etzel Ave. on Sat., Oct. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Diaper Bank will also collect monetary donations so that, for every $1 donated, the organization can directly purchase eight diapers for children in need.
Founded in 2014, the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank collects, stores, and distributes 250,000 free diapers per month to families through a network of 56 communities, nonprofits, educational and health care partners serving low-income women and children.
Diaper need is not a health and child development issue reserved for urban and low-income areas. According to the NDBN, one in three American families cannot afford enough diapers to keep their baby clean, dry, and healthy. Children require at least 50 diaper changes per week or 200 diaper changes per month.”
Cost is the issue, and the NBDN website states it does not lobby for diapers to be eligible for purchase through WIC or food stamps because “they are nutrition programs administered by the Department of Agriculture. Diapers would be a big cost addition to these programs that already face budget challenges.”
While diapers can be purchased with TANF funds, only 23% of families living below the Federal Poverty Level receive cash assistance through the program.
The costs of utility payments, rent, and other expenses often extinguish the funds before diapers can be purchased.
Inflation is also playing a role in the need for more diaper distribution to families. According to a Center for Economic and Policy Research, the poorest 20% of Americans who regularly purchase diapers spend nearly 14% of their post-tax income on diapers and related supplies.
Infant Crisis Services in Oklahoma reports that it has a 27% increase in clients who need diapers and formula compared to this time in 2021. It has given away 2.4 million diapers in the last three years in nearly 60,000 client visits.
It says it is a result of the rapid cost increase because of severe inflation and the nationwide formula shortage that plagued the US earlier this year.
Florida, New York, Maryland, and Louisiana have recently passed or signed legislation that would pause or eliminate sales tax on diapers.
According to the NDBN, eliminating a 7% sales tax on diapers would save a family around $66 dollars a year.
In Missouri, Democratic state Sen. Lauren Arthur of Kansas City filed legislation in February that would reduce the tax. It was not passed during the 2022 legislative session
“Diapers are taxed at about 4.2%, which is the same tax rate as things like jewelry or clothes. We all know and understand that diapers are a basic necessity,” she told Springfield, Mo. TV station KY3.
Another impact of diaper need involves childcare. Most childcare facilities require parents to provide diapers for their child. Nationally, 57% of parents experiencing diaper need who rely on childcare said they missed an average of four days of school or work in the past month because they didn’t have diapers, according to the NBDN.
There are also mental health issues that arise because of a family’s lack of diapers.
A study by the Rutgers University School of Nursing was published earlier this year in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, which its authors said, “examined the associations of insufficient diaper supply, a measure of material hardship, with child sleep.”
“The findings suggest that an inadequate supply of diapers adversely affects children’s sleep. Further research should evaluate how screening and connecting families to resources may improve pediatric sleep.”
In St. Louis, more than 5.1 million diapers have been distributed in recent year, including nearly 900,000 diapers during the height of the pandemic.
The Diaper Bank offers both emergency and long-term diaper distribution.