New York State Will Partner With Baby2Baby to Provide Free Diapers

New York is working with national nonprofit Baby2Baby to provide free diapers throughout the state.

The partnership comes through a program being established by New York governor Andrew Cuomo and is part of the 2021 Women’s Agenda, which focuses on combating women’s issues. For it, Baby2Baby will donate 20 million diapers to create a “diaper bank,” accessible to parents for free through food banks.

“COVID-19 has piled challenge after challenge onto hardworking New York families, including the ability to afford the products they need to care for their children,” Cuomo said. "Even before the pandemic, an astonishing one in three families struggled to cover the cost of diapers, and the pandemic has only exacerbated this issue. As we begin laying the groundwork to rebuild in a post-COVID world we must find ways to level the playing field and reduce the burdens this virus has placed on families in every corner of the state.”

New York’s unemployment rate was around 8 percent in December 2020, as compared to 4 percent the previous year, Fast Company reports.

The program, which the outlet reports has been in the works since summer 2020, complements the Nourish New York program announced in April 2020, which aimed to help the increased demands the state’s food banks saw as a result of the pandemic, as well as to help with the financial struggles of New York’s farmers.

“Families living in poverty are always hit the hardest during any crisis, and COVID is no exception. The families we serve were already choosing between diapers and food for their babies, and when the pandemic began our requests immediately jumped 350 percent with moms and dads even resorting to making homemade diapers out of newspapers and towels,” Baby2Baby Co-CEOs Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof also said. “We hope that this donation provides relief to hundreds of thousands of New York parents and enables them to use their funds toward paying rent, putting food on the table and keeping their children safe.”

Many benefit programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) actually don’t cover diapers. This often leaves families in need to scrape together their very limited resources to make ends meet or to rely on donated items.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on all New Yorkers, and parents dealing with a sudden lack of child care and the stress of keeping their children safe are no exception,” Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor and Chair of the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls, said. “No parent should ever have to worry about affording basic products they need to keep their children healthy.”

To learn more about the program, visit Governor.NY.Gov.

Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.