Delaware County families are banding together to help each other find baby formula during a nationwide shortage, writes Sarah Gantz for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The families have turned into scavengers, searching the internet and visiting stores miles away. When the treasured commodity is found, its location is shared with a Facebook group.

Karah Weiser, a 32-year-old Drexel Hill mom of a 4-month old spotted some formula at the Boothwyn Walmart. She snapped a picture, added a date and address, then shared it to Delco Formula Finders. 

Other parenting groups have turned into informal marketplaces, buying, selling, trading and donating unopened formula. Lactating mothers are donating excess breastmilk.

“Ever since I started looking for formula, it’s really shocking how much there isn’t,” said Weiser.

Brookhaven mom Ashley Brown has found another problem. The price of formula bought from online retailers and some Facebook groups is marked up. She paid $60 more for six cans of the Costco-brand formula than it would have cost her in the store.

 “I absolutely needed it. I said, ‘OK, fine, I guess I’m going to have to pay it so my kid can eat,” Brown said.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about families bonding together to cope with the baby formula shortages.

CNN looks at why there is a baby formula shortage.