GREENSBORO, N.C. — The scene of a military plan landing on Sunday is a relief to many parents. The plane is first of many carrying infant formula from Europe to help stock shelves across the country.
The baby formula that has arrived is for babies with allergies to cow's milk. The first shipment of 78,000 pounds of formula is from the Nestle plant in Switzerland and now it's at the Nestle Distribution Center in Indiana where it will go through standard checks before heading out to hospitals, pharmacies and doctor's offices across the country.
Another 114 pallets of Gerber's Hypoallergenic HA formula is expected to arrive this week as well.
WFMY spoke with Sameera Fazili, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, about the shipments and if any will make it to North Carolina.
"The distribution of getting that product to the consumer is going to be run by the company itself, by Nestlé and Gerber through their normal channels, but the normal channels for this kind of product, because it is specialized and is for a medical purpose, doesn't necessarily go to all the normal retail stores," Fazili said.
We've reached out to both Nestle and Gerber to get answers.
She said by the end of this week, there will be more than one and a half million 8 ounce bottles of specialized formula brought into the country.
For other non-specialized formulas, Fazili said the Defense Production Act will hopefully get more cans on shelves.
"You will start seeing more and more companies get announced that who have been authorized to now sell in the US and ship their products in the US so will have more announcements on that shortly," Fazili said.
She said it is a top priority for President Biden to get formula to babies who need it.
"We have said we are going to pull every lever and we are going to pull every lever because so many of us who are working on this issue are parents and have young children or recently had young children and we know exactly what parents are going through," Fazili said.
We've also reached out to NCDHHS and have yet to hear back.