Stories of Diaper Need

Anna is a single mother. She recently returned to work, but tries to spend as much time as she can with her 5-month-old son.

Anna finds herself trying to stretch each week’s diaper supply as much as possible. Even though she knows it’s not the best idea, she often dumps out soiled diapers and puts them back on her son. A less-than-clean diaper is better than no diaper at all.

James spends his days serving his community as an EMT. When our families face medical emergencies, James is there to provide aid. Yet he makes only $35,000 per year.

What his patients don’t know, is that James has a newborn son. When he gets home at the end of a long shift, the baby is often inconsolable because he has soiled the last diaper that was budgeted for that day.

Camille is a hardworking Certified Nursing Assistant. She makes minimum wage, and often works nights and weekends so that she can be home when her husband is at work. Together, they make $45,000 per year (nearly double the federal poverty level).

Camille and her husband have two young girls, 6 months and 2 years old. They are working hard to potty train their oldest daughter, but for the moment, both children need diapers. That means they spend approximately $2000 per year keeping their little ones’ bottoms dry. That’s about 4.5% of their family income, or enough to pay for two and a half months worth of groceries for their family.

The tragedy of these stories is that so few people know about diaper need. You can help thousands of babies in Minnesota by spreading the word about diaper need, and by donating your time and resources to the Diaper Bank of Minnesota.