DALLAS — As part of the Biden administration’s push to get more baby formula into the hands of parents in need, 110,000 pounds, or 63,504 cans of Nestlé infant formula, (which can make approximately 1.6 million 8-ounce bottles) shipped from Cologne, Germany, into DFW International Airport on Thursday.

This Operation Fly Formula flight was the third to land in the U.S. and the fifth Operation Fly Formula mission facilitated to date by the Biden-Harris Administration. Additional flights will land in the coming days, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports.

“Under Operation Fly Formula, HHS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Department of Defense (DOD) are partnering to pick up infant formula from other countries that meet U.S. health and safety standards, so it can get to store shelves faster,” a HHS press release reads.

But where can parents go to find this formula that was shipped over? The formula is going to be made available strictly online. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra says the June 9 shipment is going straight from the airport to Nestlé’s existing supply chain and will be “reaching the parents of America real soon.” Because this shipment will only be available online, they won’t be available for families in the WIC Program.

“Parents, what should you do? How should you operate to get this formula? Let me suggest to you one thing: go through your normal business to try to get baby formula,” Becerra said. “So if you do it online, guess what? If you go to Nestlé’s, you may find that you’re they’ve got it available. If you go to a particular grocery store or retailer, check with them. More is coming online as we speak. And if you don’t find it through them, connect directly to the manufacturer. You want to know how you can connect directly to a manufacturer? You go on our website, hhs.org/formula.”

According to the HHS website, “supply chain issues from the pandemic contributed to the current formula shortage. It worsened when Abbott Nutrition, one of the country’s largest formula producers, voluntarily recalled formula and closed one of its production facilities in Sturgis, Michigan. The President, agencies across the U.S. government, retailers, and the formula industry are working around the clock to address this shortage and get formula back on shelves.”

Abbott Nutrition recently restarted production at the Michigan baby formula factory, the company said Saturday. The company will prioritize production of the speciality formulas first, and it will take about three weeks to get to consumers. The plant reopening will hopefully be what helps improve supply in the weeks ahead. Other manufacturers in the U.S., Reckitt and Gerber, have stepped up production as well.

Not only has additional product been flown in through Operation Fly Formula, President Joe Biden also invoked the Defense Protection Act to combat the shortage, which puts U.S. formula manufacturers first in line to receive resources needed to increase formula production. Biden also issued FDA guidance so that major formula manufacturers can safely import formula not currently being produced for the U.S. market.

U.S. Representative for District 30 Eddie Bernice Johnson, in attendance for the June 9 arrival, says this the formula shipment is more than welcome.

“I knew that whatever this administration could do to solve some of the need in this formula area, it would be done. And so today the manifestation is here,” Johnson said. 

Cook Children’s pediatrician Jason Terk is more than relieved to see the FedEx plane delivering baby formula this week. The baby formula shortage that has been plaguing families across the nation for months and is just now finally hitting a turning point since the federal government launched Operation Fly Formula in May.

“Our practices have been inundated by families who are sending us messages and giving us calls about needing to find formula for their babies, and it’s been really stressful for those for those families to try to find food for their babies. It’s a very basic thing that we need to do as parents and when you can’t find food for your baby, it’s an incredibly stressful thing,” Terk said. “There are certainly special needs babies who need highly specialized formulas, which have been even more challenging to find. And so this is a nice effort, a nice beginning to resolving some of the supply chain issues that we’ve been experiencing, which have been adversely affecting families and their babies.”

Terk advises parents to reach out to pediatricians like himself for additional clarification on what can substitute for their normal formula during this shortage.

“Our role as pediatricians had been to guide families on finding equivalent formulas than what they may have been previously giving and letting them know when they can switch to something else that may be appropriate for their babies and giving them our expertise. We also have been helping them by giving them samples when we have them to alleviate short-term crisis for them when it comes to getting food for their babies,” Terk said.

Becerra says monitor the HHS website for more info, as more shipments will come to the U.S. throughout June and July. Also, check up on The White House site for additional announcements, by using the keywords “Operation Fly Formula.” Until then, parents are hoping to see formula go from “temporarily out of stock” to “now available.”