A concerted effort this month to rally support for Central New York families struggling to afford diapers has been met with generosity from the community. The CNY Diaper Bank’s 6th annual “Make a Mother’s Day” drive has raised $30,000, including a $10,000 matching grant from the John Ben Snow Foundation.
The Diaper Bank’s founder and director Michela Hugo says they haven’t seen a drop off in demand despite the improving employment picture.
"We still have partners that want to distribute diapers that we have on a wait list. And, we're still seeing families who need diapers. While the pandemic made it worse and harder for families, it's not something that's going to go away."
Hugo says the need skyrocketed last year, and their distribution doubled to nearly two million diapers. She says one indicator of ongoing demand is the strong turnout for their drive-up distribution events which they’ve held during the pandemic.
"There are so many different situations that families find themselves that lead them to experience diaper need and food insecurity, from health crises to lost jobs, lost wages. There are veterans families that struggle."
She says they’re still seeing plenty of new families seeking assistance for a very expensive basic need.
"There's no government assistance. So, when families struggle with food insecurity, they're most likely struggling with diaper need. It's something that people don't often think of."
Thankfully, Hugo says they’ve been able to meet demand over the past year with enough supply. She says the diaper bank made a large purchase right before the pandemic hit last March, which lasted them several months during some supply chain issues. Those interested in donating diapers or dollars to round out the May campaign can learn more about drop off locations at cnydiaperbank.org.They’re hoping to meet or exceed last year’s effort, which raised enough funds to purchase more than 250,000 diapers.
