Big Lots provides a wide selection of items, from furniture, clothes, toys, and even groceries. Famous for its discounted items, it’s one of the places with a department for kids and baby essentials, although the baby formula isn’t one of them. But there are several places where you can buy formula in various ways and amongst different kinds of brands available. If you’re facing significant issues and cannot get the formula, following some short-term ways can be helpful for your baby until you find the formula.
During this significant shortage of baby formula, every parent is seen rushing to places wherever they can find some for their little one.
While all the big stores are usually low in supply and don’t have the formula, you must be looking for, it’s only fitting to look at places where you would least think to look before.
Big Lots, a big home discount retailer, sells all kinds of things, from clothes to furniture and even some baby food. But is it a place where you can find baby formula?
Can you buy baby formula at Big Lots?
With more than 1,400 stores nationwide and specializing in cutting deals on closeouts and overstocks from other retailers, Big Lots is known to buy stuff on the cheap side and sell it.
Though it’s a big store selling a wide variety of stuff, including home goods and even groceries, for a fantastic discounted price, buyers still lack trust.
Firstly, even though you might expect to find everything here, it’s not the case. This place can be considered more of a treasure hunt where you have to spend some time to find whatever is on your list and then consider yourself lucky for finding it.
But even then, when it comes to buying edibles and groceries, do check the expiration date. Some of the stuff could have been sitting there for a long time.
Kid’s section at Big Lots
Of course, a kid and baby section exists at Big Lots, with different items in their category for parents to purchase. The list includes:
- Furniture
- Bedding
- Décor
- Toys
- Baby gear
- Health & Wellness
- Kid’s Dining
- Storage & Organization
- Clothing, Footwear & Accessories
While a health and wellness section exists, it contains only a few snacks and other health-related things, such as masks. When it comes to baby formula, nothing of that sort actually exists on their website.
As of now, there’s no baby formula available at Big Lots to be purchased, but if in the near future it does get available, even then, as a parent, you should take caution and check the expiry date before making a purchase.
Where to find baby formula during a shortage?
Since the beginning of 2022, things have changed a lot till now and have improved for the better. While there’s no complete availability of baby formula, the situation is improving in urban areas.
Fewer incidents have been reported where a parent couldn’t find stock of their baby formula brand at a store near them.
It has been made possible due to domestic production of baby formula improving, imported formulas as part of Biden’s Administration’s Operation Fly Formula mission to help domestic brands, and lastly, less hoarding by parents.
However, things are still improving, and rural places still have a long way to go. There’re still some places where one can find formula if they look hard enough.
These places might not be popular stores or chains of stores, but they still keep a stock of some formula.
- Albertson’s offers a formula for pick-up and delivery.
- ALDI is a discount grocery store with various brands available for in-store purchases.
- Amazon has a wide selection of formulas along with predicted ship dates.
- Bed, Bath and Beyond have Similac and Enfamil in store.
- BJ’s has top-rated formula brands in stock for pick-up, same-day delivery, and in-store.
- BuybuyBaby has several brands of formula for in-store purchase and shipping.
- Costco has Enfagrow available for shipping in-store.
- CTown Supermarkets
- CVS has both powdered and liquid forms of the formula for in-store as well as online purchases.
- Duane Reade is a drugstore chain owned by Walgreens, and its stock can be browsed for shipping or in-store options.
- Food Lion has some brands available online.
- GoPuff has no-contact delivery available for Enfamil and Similac products.
- H-E-B has Gerber baby formula and others.
- Hy-Vee has different brands available.
- IGA has an in-store and online formula
- Jewel-Osco has different brands for online shopping, pick-up, and delivery options.
- Kroger has various baby formulas online and in-store.
- Meijer has in-store, online, and pick-up options available.
- Office Max and Office Depot have a limited amount of formula.
- Piggly Wiggly carries Similac and Enfamil.
- Price Rite Has a powder formula online.
- Publix has different kinds, from concentrated liquid to milk-based and powder ones.
- RiteAid has a formula for shipping and pick-up in-store.
- Safeway has a wide selection of baby formula in stores and online.
- Sam’s Club has a formula for shipping and in-store.
- Save A Lot has online ordering through Instacart in addition to in-store shopping.
- ShopRite has Enfamil and Gerber and offers shopping online and in-store pick-up.
- Smart and Final have a formula in stock on its website.
- Stop&Shop has limited purchases to four per customer to stop hoarding.
- Target has major formula brands, shows visibility into its stock by store, offers to buy online, and pick up in-store capability.
- Thrive Market has an organic baby formula on sale.
- Vons has a selection of baby formula in stores.
- Walmart has a selection of formulas available.
- Walgreens has several formulas for shipping, pick up, and same-day delivery.
- Wegmans has infant formula.
- Whole Foods has a variety of organic baby formulas available for same-day shipping with Amazon Prime.
- Winn-Dixie offers online and in-store buying.
Feeding your baby formula safely
While trying your best doesn’t always prove fruitful, and if you ever find yourself in a predicament where baby formula isn’t available, there are always ways and tips to make things work.
Few short-term options can work in urgent situations. Though consulting your pediatrician should always be any parent’s priority, here are some ways to help you:
- If you can’t find any formula and your baby is older than 6 months, talk to your pediatrician or other health care provider about using whole cow’s milk as a short-term option.
- If you can’t find any formula and your baby is close to one year old, talk to your pediatrician or other healthcare providers about using soy milk as a short-term solution. Avoid other plant-based milk, like oat or almond milk.
- If you can’t find any formula and your baby is close to one year old, talk to your pediatrician or other healthcare providers about using a toddler drink for a few days.
- Explore human milk banks and prefer local ones accredited through the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA).
- For parents using both breast milk and formula, consider shifting to breast milk. Find ways to increase your supply by consulting a lactation consultant.
FAQs
Is the baby formula shortage getting better?
Many families with new babies are still facing a shortage of baby formula. Things still hadn’t gone back to how it was before the pandemic when there wasn’t any issue with supply and demand.
Although things are better, parents are facing difficulty in finding specialty formulas. Those belonging to low-income are still struggling.
How long until Similac is back on the shelves?
Releasing a statement on 26 August 2022, Abbott said they’re restarting the production of Similac infant formula at their Sturgis, Mich., facility.
It will take them about six to eight weeks for the product to begin shipping to retail locations as it enters into production, enhanced pre- and post-production testing, and cycles through shipping and retail distribution networks.
To summarise
It’s indeed a hard time for parents all over the country. Though the situation had somewhat improved from early in the year when things were difficult with no formula available and people trying to hoard whatever was available.
In the meantime, keep a lookout for the places where the formula is available, even though Big Lots isn’t one of those places.
