Some Vancouver babies go without basic supplies as donations dry up
A non-profit based in Vancouver is calling for help as it runs short on basic supplies.
BabyGoRound, which started nearly a decade ago, has been providing parents from low-income households with much-needed baby gear.
For the past few months, the charity has had trouble sourcing diapers, nursing pillows, and cribs.
In a year, they typically help around 1,000 families. Now, BabyGoRound is forced to limit the appointments they book with parents.
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Issues in the supply chain, according to the charity, are one of the main reasons for this shortage. It spent about three months trying to buy a month’s supply of cribs, one of its most essential items.
This is in line with a recent report by Statistics Canada, which mentions that supply chain problems would only grow in the near future.
“Of the businesses expecting difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies domestically, nearly three-fifths (57.3%) expect these challenges to continue for six months or more,” reads the report.
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The organization points out that change in parents’ behaviour is another reason for the lack of resources. Instead of donating used baby supplies, parents are selling them online after their children grow out of them.
“These families would donate the gear if they only knew that so many other families desperately needed their cherished supplies,” the charity says.
The charity is completely out of diapers and has less than a week’s supply of baby tubs, bassinets, infant carriers, bouncy chairs, and nursing pillows. It also only has around two weeks’ supply of playmats and breast pumps.
If you want to know more about the charity or what it does, you can find information here.