More families on Long Island seen struggling to pay for diapers

Some days, Samantha Morales sees almost 100 people coming into the Branches Long Island storefront in Middle Island, hoping to find donated packs of diapers for their infants and toddlers.

“We probably go through hundreds of size 4, 5, 6 diapers a week,” said Morales, founder of the nonprofit organization. “We split our packs in half to try to help more families. But that only leaves them with about 30 diapers that really only lasts two days or so."

Angels of Long Island founder Debbie Loesch gets calls from people frantically searching for donated diapers.

“I have moms call who have two diapers left,” said Loesch, founder of the nonprofit with sites in Mastic and Patchogue. “They are in a panic because they don’t have money to get more.”

Community organizations across Long Island are seeing more families coming for help as they struggle to pay for the cost of diapers. Prices are rising at the same time many middle- and lower-income families are being squeezed financially. Government programs like WIC and SNAP can provide help with food but not diapers.

“With the pandemic, followed quickly by inflation, followed quickly by asylum-seekers needing assistance, we have seen a consistent need across Long Island,” said Heather Edwards, executive director of The Allied Foundation Diaper Bank, which has provided 2.7 million diapers to community groups across Nassau and Suffolk counties since 2020. Angels of Long Island and Branches Long Island are two of their local partners.

Almost half of U.S. families have a hard time affording clean diapers, according to the National Diaper Bank Network.

Diapers can cost families about $80 per month, per baby, on average, according to the network, depending on prices in their region. Infants require about 12 changes a day, the group said.

The Allied Foundation Diaper Bank is part of the Allied Physicians Group, which has more than two dozen pediatric offices on Long Island. It is holding public diaper distributions in Roosevelt and Mastic on Tuesday to bring attention to the issue at the start of Diaper Need Awareness Week.

Parents who can’t afford supplies of diapers may be forced to keep babies in diapers longer, making them more vulnerable to rashes and urinary tract infections, experts said.

Martine Hackett, an associate professor of public health at Hofstra University, started a small diaper bank at Hofstra to help clients in a program to address maternal and infant mortality. Since May, when the program started, they have distributed thousands of diapers, she said.

Hackett is also conducting a research study, examining how diaper access impacts the anxiety of caregivers as well as their ability to buy other needed items, take children to child care and go to work and school.

“Aside from food, diapers are our top need for sure,” said Morales, whose group also relies on donations from the community to pass on to families in need.

Loesch said the sharing cart outside the group’s Patchogue location, which includes diapers, food and other necessities, is empty within a few hours every day. When they can’t find the right size diapers, some people will take larger ones, she said.

“Some people use training pants just to have something on the baby,” she said. “It’s a real issue."

Diapers will be distributed free between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Angels of Long Island's Mastic location at 14 Herkimer St. She said there will be baby wipes, diapers and period supplies, which are also in high demand. Families can also get fresh fruit and vegetables from a free farm stand created in conjunction with Carroll's Kitchen.

Free diapers are also being distributed at Choice for All Nassau County, 55 Mansfield Ave. in Roosevelt, between noon and 2 p.m.

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.