HOUSTON — Parents are getting creative in their hunt for baby formula. One dad not only solved the problem for his family but could help yours too.
Ken, who chose to only be identified by his first name, got tired of driving 65 miles to buy formula after his newborn son was born. “I just got home and said it’s crunch time," he said. "I’ve got to figure it out."
The new dad was also tired of scouring websites looking for the brand that his son drinks. So, Ken created an online program that searches automatically.
He’s a computer programmer.
“I’m pretty savvy with the computer,” he said. “I wrote a script and just checked Walmart and within 2 days, I had five cans and that should last me about a month.”
With that success, friends started asking Ken for help.
It took hours of work, but Ken built a website called Find My Baby Formula. His website is free and anyone can use it!
It only asks for a phone number and zip code. Then you’ll get a text with a link that will take you back to the website where you can pick your brand and store. The site searches Walmart, Target, CVS and Amazon on a continuous loop.
“You’ll see there’s no ads, there’s no credit card information, there’s no name, no email address,” he said. “I don’t want your address. I don’t want anything.”
Once your brand is in stock near you, you get a text message. Ken suggested checking out online immediately and picking up later.
That’s it.
You can opt-out by texting the word STOP or put the service on hold for weeks at a time.
The website has been active for less than a week and has already found nearly 400,000 products in more 6,000 zip codes.
“My hope is findmybabyformula.com doesn’t stay on for long because I’m hoping this issue gets resolved,” said Ken. “But it’s helping people while we need it.”