MADISON, Wis. — A new report found 1 in 2 families nationwide struggle to afford diapers for their children.

According to the National Diaper Bank Network, the need is forcing 46% of families to cut back on other essentials such as food and utilities.

Ebon Derks works for Babies and Beyond in Madison, helping connect pregnant women in need and families with young children to free resources and services.

She first came to the organization as someone who needed help after having her daughter Eden.

“I was really scared to come in,” she said. “When I first started utilizing us, we had curbside pickup, and I did the curbside pickup because I was like, ‘I don’t want to go in, I don’t know if I’m going to be judged.’”

Executive Director of Babies and Beyond Brenda Collins said she’s seen that need more and more in the families that visit her organization.

“We’re distributing about 40,000 diapers directly to families in need each and every month,” Collins said. “And then there’s so many more organizations that are looking to us to help provide diapers to their organization as well. And we haven’t been able to do that.”

Collins attributes the increased need to the rising cost of living.

“We’ve done the math on some of it, especially for a single mom who is low income,” she said. “And if she’s got two kids in diapers, she’s spending anywhere up to 14% of her income just on diapers. That’s not okay.”

Collins said they’re doing everything they can to keep up, but right now, they need the community’s help more than ever.

“We really need the community support. We really need the community to know just how important of an issue this is and how much it’s affecting so many families,” she said.

She said any type of donation, whether it’s a physical or monetary donation, can help. You can visit Babies and Beyond’s website for information on how to donate or hold your own diaper drive.