詹妮弗·k·森田著

2022年9月9日

Working mom and full-time 萨克拉门托 State student Gabby McCartney doesn’t have the luxury of buying just any diapers for her 2-year-old daughter, Emilia.

“I have looked at different brands and the quantity of diapers you get for the price,” McCartney, 23, said. “I found one that was cheaper, and I like to get them from Costco because it’s about $50 for 160, and that lasts almost half a month.

“I spend about $100 a month on diapers.”

With the rising price of food, gas and other essentials, there isn’t a lot of wiggle room in McCartney’s budget – and she’s not alone.

To help McCartney and other 萨克拉门托 County families struggling with the region’s high cost of living, the Associated Students, 公司。 (ASI) Children’s Center is giving away free diapers.

The center has partnered with the 萨克拉门托食物银行 to become a federally funded National Diaper Distribution site.

在萨克拉门托县，任何有小孩的人每月都可以从该中心获得50个免费尿布，尺寸从3号到5号不等。

“People are struggling because of inflation and have to make some very serious choices between feeding their children or taking care of their diapering needs,” said Sherry Velte, ASI Children’s Center director. “So, children can be left in diapers too long, which causes diaper rash.

“It’s a health concern for children. It can be very severe when children’s bottoms are bleeding and have wounds and sores.”

Within days of launching on Sept. 2, the Children’s Center distributed more than 1,800 diapers, Velte said.

The numbers don’t lie, said Lorena Carranza, the 萨克拉门托食物银行’s community resource manager. 她说，当COVID-19大流行来临时，萨克拉门托食品银行服务的家庭数量翻了一番，从每月15万增加到30多万。

随着去年世界经济开始复苏，食品银行前的排队人数略有减少，但大约四个月前又开始增加。

“It’s because of inflation,” Carranza said. “It’s really hitting families hard, so we are right now at 250,000 families a month.

“The cost of living is very high here in 萨克拉门托, and we see it in all the demographic groups. 有很多有小孩的家庭。 You have to change diapers, there’s no way around it. Babies don’t wait.”

萨克拉门托食品银行于2021年7月成为全国尿布分发站点，并与萨克拉门托县的其他六个组织合作提供尿布。

“这种额外的帮助减轻了父母的负担，他们要工作，要上学，要想办法支付所有这些必需品。” -- Gabby McCartney, 萨克拉门托 State student, mom

The 萨克拉门托食物银行 also partners with 囊状态 to provide food for the ASI Food Pantry, and knowing college students’ needs makes the collaboration “a perfect fit,” Carranza said.

除了特殊培训，Velte还必须确定如何运输大盒尿布，并找到一个干净干燥的地方存放它们。

“It’s not what we’re designed to do. We’re a child care facility,” she said. “But we’re providing diapers to the campus and the community because I know this will be a tremendous service to my student-parents, who are primarily on financial aid.”

麦卡特尼第一天就去拿尿布。

“It will help out tremendously,” McCartney said. “Prices for everything have been extremely high, and children go through so many diapers. I’m constantly having to buy them.”

McCartney, who commutes to campus from Elk Grove, said free diapers mean she’ll worry less if there’s another spike in the cost of gas or food.

“There are families from all different backgrounds, and everybody has their own struggles,” McCartney said. “This extra help takes off a little more weight from parents who are working and going to school and trying to find ways to pay for all those essentials.

“The ASI Children’s Center is an amazing program, and I’m very grateful I’m able to get diapers from here now.”

ASI尿布分发计划对萨克拉门托县所有有小孩的人开放。 For more information, contact the Children’s Center 通过电子邮件 or by phone at 916-278-6216.