Glasgow North Baby Foodbank is founded, and they ask Feed for help

When a local Health Visitor contacted a Mum and babies group in Springburn asking for help sourcing formula for an asylum seeking family, after the breastfeeding Mum had been hospitalised and the dad could not afford formula for their baby, they did what most Glaswegian Mums would do and clubbed together to ensure the wee one was fed. After word spread and more requests started coming in, Glasgow North Baby Foodbank was born.

Despite operating on a referall only basis in collaboration with the local Health Visiting team, and quickly establishing close connections with other family support organisations in the community, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde stopped Health Visitors from referring families to the Glasgow North Baby Foodbank for provision of infant formula citing UNICEF UK guidelines.

The result? Barriers to accessing infant formula for formula feeding families in need, placing vulnerable babies at risk.

The wonderful women at the Baby Foodbank reached out to us for help and we were happy to help them try to reinstate the Health Visiting referral system.

In December 2019 we met with them, along with some of the of the other brilliant organisations in their support network, including Aberlour, The Salvation Army and members of MSP Bob Doris’s team; NHS GGC were unable to attend.