A video of a mother confronting a fellow mom for hoarding baby formula at a Target store amid a nationwide baby formula shortage has gone viral on social media.
The clip, originally shared on TikTok before being circulated on other social media platforms, shows the mothers arguing with one accusing another of clearing out the shelves and filling up her shopping cart with baby formula.
Although the woman's face is not visible, the contents of the cart show at least 30 bottles of baby formula stashed inside. The incident apparently took place at a Target store in Massachusetts.
'You Don't Think I Need it for My Baby Too?'
"You have a full cart! Look at all this!" the woman exclaims as she notices the fully- stocked shopping cart.
"Look at the shelves,' she continues, noting how they are all completely empty. "You don't think I need it for my baby too?"
"You think I knew you were going to come and get this one?" the other mom responds in broken English.
"You just cleared the whole shelf of all of this formula," the woman replies.
"We took it because I am paying for it!" the other mother responds.
"And I'm not paying for?" the first mother retorts. "I have a child at home and you just cleared the whole shelf," she states calmly.
'You Just Cleared the Whole Shelf'
"This is the whole reason why there's a formula shortage," the woman filming continues. "You've taken all the formula off the shelf and bought it all at once! There's kids who need formula today who won't be able to get it because you just bought it to stock up."
At this point, the other mother has heard enough and decided to move on with her shopping. "That's not your problem, right?" the first mother says to her before the clip ends. Watch the video below:
Social Media Reactions
The video sparked mixed reactions on social media with some users calling for the store to limit each individual's purchase.
"The store should limit the amount each person can buy," wrote one user, while another commented, "Why hasn't Target put a limit on the amount one person can purchase like Walmart?"
Meanwhile, others sided with the mother stocking up an available product for her child. "The shortage is because of all the recalls let's stop blaming parents for being smart and stocking up when it's available," one user noted.
Biden Administration Announces Plan to Deal with Shortage
The Biden administration announced Thursday that it had secured its first batch of infant formula from overseas, a day after he announced that he would be invoking the Defense Production Act, which allows the government more control over industrial production during emergencies, to direct suppliers of formula ingredients to prioritize delivery to the manufacturers of formula.
Biden established Operation Fly Formula, which directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture to utilize the Defense Department's commercial planes to import formula from abroad.
