We are proud to support the San Diego Food Bank – Diaper Bank Program as our Giving Month charity for the month of July. Our Office Manager, Kalina Torrez, is our charity champion this month!

Please join us as we collect as many new diapers as we can for the summer season, a time when many San Diego families struggle the most.

The Food Bank started the Diaper Bank Program to help solve an important piece of the poverty puzzle for young parents living in poverty by giving them the hand up they need to work for their families. Diapers are expensive — a month’s supply for one child can cost between $70 and $80, and diapers cannot be purchased with CalFresh benefits or WIC. As a result, parents try to make do without diapers by stretching their supply and leaving babies in dirty diapers longer or by reusing diapers.

A diaper is a small thing, but its impact is significant. Not having diapers means parents cannot leave their children with a childcare provider, most of whom require parents to provide disposable diapers for their children. So parents cannot go to work to earn money. Not having diapers means a longer time between changes, which can lead to severe diaper rash and other health problems. Not having diapers means that babies who cry because their diaper is dirty will cry that much longer, increasing stress for parents struggling to make ends meet. And not having diapers can adversely affect a mother’s feeling of self-worth, negatively impacting the mother-child bond.

The need is significant. A healthy child will require an average of 50 diaper changes a week. That’s approximately 2,600 diaper changes a year. And with more than 48% of the nation’s children under age three living below the poverty level or in low-income families, there are approximately 5.4 million children across America who could need assistance.

The Food Bank’s new Diaper Bank Program is helping local families in need by distributing diapers through our existing food distribution programs and through our network of nonprofit partners. The goal is to provide much-needed diapers to low-income parents who reside in San Diego County so they can remain employed, provide for their families, and lift themselves out of poverty.

Diapers can be dropped off at PRAVA offices through July and/or at our July 18th Contractor Beer Social. For monetary donations for diapers, please click here. * For monetary donations please note that your donation is for the PRAVA Diaper Drive.

For more information, or partnering opportunities, please contact the organizer below.