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Charities notice shortage in diapers

By: Sadie Michalk

Posted: 11/11/08

Hope Pregnancy Center, which serves families in the Brazos Valley through childcare product donations and education, is in need of diapers as the holiday season approaches.

The center works on a points system. Parents take classes to earn points and use the points to buy items for their babies. The most popular item is diapers, said Tracy Frank, executive director of Hope Pregnancy Center.

"We offer free educational services like child birth classes, nutrition classes and parenting classes which allow our clients to earn points," Frank said.

After the parents complete the core classes, they become eligible for free diapers and wipes every month for a year after their baby is born.

But the center has a significant shortage of diapers, with those in sizes two to four in shortest supply, Frank said.

"Babies stay in [diaper sizes] two, three and four the longest," Frank said. "They grow out of the newborn size and size one very quickly."

Frank explained that Hope Pregnancy Center could purchase diapers from the food bank at a significantly lower price than retail stores. She said Hope Pregnancy Center supplies various local charity organizations, along with their clientele, with baby items.

"Our main source of diapers comes from the Brazos Valley Food Bank," Frank said. "In the last two weeks, they have been completely out of the sizes we need."

Theresa Mangapora, executive director of the Brazos Valley Food Bank, said she has noticed a shortage. Factors ranging from a souring economy to the weather could be the cause for donations to slow, she said.

"There could be several reasons for a shortage," Mangapora said. "The recent drop in the economy could be to blame, but also the after effects of Hurricane Ike."

Mangapora said the Bryan-College Station area was home to many hurricane evacuees for a long period of time, so the food bank was assisting their needs as well as the needs of residents.

"Another thing is that since the food bank deals directly with donations, people feel that it is easier and cheaper to donate food items, like canned goods, rather than diapers," Mangapora said.

The shortage at the Hope Center is part of a drip-down effect. The short supply there was caused by the shortage at the food bank, and the food bank's shortage was caused by one at the emergency assistant organization, Caritas, in Waco, from which they receive many of their items, she said.

Help from the community is the solution, said Rhonda Behrens, agency relations and operations manager for the Brazos Valley Food Bank.

"A good way to help would be to host a food drive," Behrens said. "The food bank also accepts monetary donations or items delivered to our physical address."

She said those at Hope Pregnancy Center are very grateful for the food bank.

"We definitely don't want to paint the food bank in a bad light," Frank said. "We are very grateful for everything they do for us but we are just concerned about how this shortage will affect our clientele."