Woman Backed for Taking Formula From Couple's Cart After They Cleared Shelf

Commenters defended a mother who admitted to taking cans of formula out of another couple's cart after they cleared the shelf for themselves.

The anonymous woman, known only as u/throwawayformula893, posted about the incident on Reddit's popular "Am I The A**hole" forum where it received nearly 10,000 upvotes and 1,600 comments. The post can be found here.

In the post titled "AITA for taking multiple containers of formula out of a couple's cart due to the formula shortage?" the woman, 26, said she had a baby last month and has been unable to find formula.

She explained that her newborn is on a sensitive brand of formula because she was unable to produce enough milk to breastfeed him.

There are many factors that contribute to breast milk production, one being overall stress levels. Studies show that the hormones released during stressful times can dramatically reduce an individual's milk supply. For many, the only option for feeding is baby formula.

In February, Abbott—the country's biggest supplier of infant formula—had a recall on several of its brands. The recall came after an investigation was launched over fears that bacteria may have been present in the products.

The recall resulted in a national baby formula shortage that has left parents desperate and panicked about how to feed their babies.

On May 16, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it reached an agreement to allow Abbott Nutrition to resume production, which has been halted since February.

In the viral post, the woman said she recently had to drive two hours to buy formula for her newborn.

"The shortage has been very exhausting and stressful to deal with so when I finally say that my local store had some in stock I immediately rushed over," the post read.

Inside the store, the woman said she saw an older couple taking formula off the shelf.

"The aisle was small so I just waited patiently," the post read. "I realized they weren't stopping and eventually they had about 40 cans of formula in their cart, emptying the shelf."

The woman asked the couple if she could have four cans for her newborn but said the man "scowled" and walked away. When she told them they couldn't just take all the formula, they said they got there first and had twins to feed.

"I was stressed and furious at this point so I cut in front of their cart and started grabbing a few cans. I figured, they hadn't paid for any of this so why not," the post read. "I wasn't gonna let my baby go hungry because they wanted to grab all the formula."

She said the couple started calling her selfish and an a**hole. A manager approached and told her next time she should ask for assistance instead of grabbing it from another customer's cart.

"He explained there was a limit and they wouldn't have been able to buy it all anyways.

I feel justified (sorta) in my actions but I'm not sure if that was totally correct. AITA?" the post concluded.

More than 1,600 users commented on the post, with a majority supporting the woman's choice.

"Y'know, sometimes the question isn't if you're TA, it's that it's not always morally wrong to be TA," one user commented.

"I would do the same thing as OP, and not care if I was TA. Would I be a bad person? Maybe. Would my baby be fed? Yup, so don't care," another replied.

"I can't condemn someone as an asshole for taking a couple cans of formula from a giant hoard of it to feed their baby," another user commented.

Other users mentioned it was probable that the couple was planning on reselling the formula online.

"People that stock up like that are definitely part of the problem and reason for this formula shortage," one user wrote. "There isn't a reason to buy 40 at once for two babies. I'm willing to bet they are just reselling it at a higher price and don't actually have any kids."

"Dollars to doughnuts that older couple don't have kids and were going to sell it online at a massively inflated price," another user commented. "People like that should be named and shamed publicly."

Newsweek reached out to u/throwawayformula893 for comment.

In another viral Reddit post, a man was praised for forbidding his wife's best friend from seeing her while she breastfed.

Another woman was recently supported for confronting her brother-in-law over an inappropriate comment he made about her breastfeeding her baby.

Commenters also praised a woman who, in October, said she gave her sister-in-law baby formula because she was struggling to breastfeed.