HAMILTON, Ohio — As the prices of diapers have climbed during the past year, one organization in Butler County is working to help those with infants in need.

Once per month, on delivery day, it seems like Vanessa McQueen hits the motherlode of diapers.

Her two rooms at Chrysalis Community Development Agency will fill up with thousands of diapers as she gets her order from Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank, but McQueen said looks are deceiving. It’s nowhere near enough for every baby in need.

“It’ll be empty in the next two weeks,” she said, looking around the room. “We can’t supply the full need but we’re trying to do what we can do to make it not as bad as it currently is.”

McQueen stocks the latest delivery from Sweet Cheeks

McQueen landed this initiative within her organization, Mary’s Helping Hands, about three years ago after her daughter opened her eyes to how important diaper banks can be. 

Many low-income parents can get federal assistance to buy clothes or food, but for things like diapers, parents are on their own, which can be incredibly detrimental for their babies.

“Parents are having to try to do so many different things to try to stretch diapers,” McQueen said. 

That can severely impact the infant’s health and development, while also taking a toll on the family. Many parents can’t get childcare if they aren’t able to supply a day’s worth of diapers whenever they take their baby in.

Unfortunately, McQueen said there aren’t many options in Butler County for parents who need the help.

“As far as a diaper bank that serves Butler County,” she said. “We’re it.”

McQueen said she gives away about 25,000 diapers every month, most of them come from donations, but increasingly she’s had to buy more to cover the need and with prices rising, it’s taking on diaper banks across the country. 

Before the pandemic, a survey by Huggies reported one in three American families struggled to buy diapers for their children, now, over the past year, diaper prices have gone up 8.7%. Manufacturers claim it’s due to supply chain issues and they don’t expect them to resolve anytime soon.

“It’s more expensive for us to purchase at times but donations are also down because of it and really who it’s going to hurt the most is the families we serve,” said Megan Fischer, CEO of Sweet Cheeks and McQueen’s biggest supplier.

The warehouse at Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank is clearing out

Both Sweet Cheeks and McQueen said they’re working month to month. They can get the product they need, but they’re not able to stockpile for the future. 

McQueen said it’s been that way for nearly the entire pandemic as the turbulent economy impacts prices of just about everything. 

“it’s just it’s affecting so many things that we probably never even think about down the line, utilities are going up,” she said.  “That money is pulling away from resources that would go towards diapers.”

McQueen said she’s trying her best to keep up her stock to serve as a relief to these unexpected burdens, offering help without judgment, because she said it wasn’t too long ago that she needed that help herself.

The stock at Mary's Helping Hands will last about two weeks.

“I know what it’s like to sit down in front of a social worker who actually made me cry because you know she was challenging me about why I was having children when I can’t afford them,” she said. “It actually was something that took me years to heal from.”

McQueen said she never wants her clients to feel that way. Instead, she listens to their stories and tries to help how she can.

“It teaches us to be sensitive to those that are in need,” she said.

To keep that up, she said she needs donations. The diaper bank accepts diaper packages or single unopened diapers, they can repackage for a family in need. She said every little bit counts.