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Local Mom Helping Parents Combat Baby Formula Shortage Through 'Formula Hunters' Facebook Group

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Despite moves to increase the supply of baby formula, many families are still feeling the pain of the nationwide shortage. That's where a local mom from the Doylestown area comes in. She is helping parents through a project called Formula Hunters.

These are the Robinsons. There's full-time working mom Christine full-time working dad Paul and their three sons -- 4-year-old Shea, 19-month-old Liam, and 5-month-old Brody, who drinks formula.

"I'd say it probably about a month and a half ago where it started to really become a crunch," Christine said.

And so Christine started thinking.

"I found the entire supply chain issue somewhat fascinating just simply because of my line of work," Christine said.

Christine diagnosed a supply and demand mismatch and employed strategies honed during her career to bring organization and order to the chaos. She formed a Facebook group called Formula Hunters.

"So the way that it works is a form. It's three questions: What is their Facebook name because we need to be able to contact them; What brand do they use because that is so important; and of course, the time horizon. When are you gonna run out?" Christine said.

And here's the genius part and the angel touch, it circumvents scammers.

"You can't get scammed if you never send anyone money. So what if our group was donation only? And that's what we did," Christine said.

Most of the formula is shipped -- at the shipper's expense -- which is quite costly. But today, there was someone close by in need and for the first time, Christine got to meet someone she was helping in person.

"I seen it on Facebook. One of my friends were in it -- I'm not sure who, but I seen it. And then I've been talking to Christine. She's amazing," Elena Gleisberg said.

"It's amazing, I think, what the kindness of strangers has been able to produce. It also begs the question, though: How much longer?" Christine said.

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