Baby2Baby, the national nonprofit that distributes diapers and other basic essentials to families in need, has announced it is now manufacturing diapers to donate to the families they serve, becoming the first nonprofit to do so. Baby2Baby will be manufacturing diapers this year for hundreds of thousands of families living in poverty, as the organization continues to find innovative ways to address the needs of the communities it serves.

While Baby2Baby will continue to partner with retailers for donations of diapers and supplies, this first-of-its-kind move is a necessary step to enable Baby2Baby to increase diaper supply and tackle the increasing diaper need at scale. In the past year alone, Baby2Baby received requests for 731 million diapers, a 505% jump from 2020.

“Even before the pandemic began, families were struggling to afford basic essentials for their children like diapers and formula, but with lost jobs, lost income and rising prices, the situation is dramatically worse. Manufacturing our own diapers allows us to produce them at a fraction of the cost which will immediately increase the number of children we reach – so that parents don’t have to choose between food and diapers for their babies,” say Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof, co-CEOs, Baby2Baby.

This announcement coincided with their “Baby2Baby Hearts NY – A Covid Relief Diaper Distribution” event on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at the Saint Nicholas Houses NYCHA campus in upper Manhattan. At the event, Baby2Baby and their Ambassador Drew Barrymore provided diapers, clothing, hygiene items, blankets, backpacks, masks, food and other essential items to local families. Baby2Baby supporters Chanel Iman, Eva Chen and Hannah Bronfman were also on hand to distribute basic essentials. The event also included a mobile vaccination unit so that parents and eligible children could easily access the vaccine and help keep their families safe.

This event is part of Baby2Baby’s ongoing partnership with the State of New York, where earlier this year they established the New York State Cares + Baby2Baby Diaper Bank, pledging 20 million diapers to families in need across the state. This commitment was made possible by the support of The Derfner Foundation, which provided Baby2Baby with a $1 million grant to fund the first year of the diaper bank program.