The San Diego Original Black Panther Party for Community Empowerment has been hosting a food distribution event in front of the Clementine McDuff Elks Lodge for quite some time now. But recently, they added something new — baby formula.
“We put out a call to get people to donate to this cause," said the Chairman of the Party, Henry Wallace V.
Wallace said they received about 130 bottles of formula.
The fact there was baby formula available at the weekly food distribution was a godsend for Cathy Dixon. She was there getting formula for her great grandchild.
“It’s very sad that the moms can’t get milk for their babies ... We gotta help, we gotta feed the babies," Dixon said. “Some are breastfeeding, but they need those extra nutrients and stuff. I just hope that the moms can get what they need and not have to drive so far."
Given the shortage of formula, you might have thought it would be the first item to go here. That was not the case. Though all the food was taken, they were left with eight bottles of formula at the end.
Henry Wallace said he hoped the word would now get out that baby formula is here, especially for parents of infants filled with anxiety about where their baby’s next meal is coming from.
“We’ve been giving it out for the last two weeks and it kind of amazed me that the story wasn’t getting out that San Diego Original Black Panther Party had baby formula," Wallace said.
The food — and formula — distribution happens at 6 Hensley St. every Wednesday beginning at 11 a.m.
