Skip to content
CityLab
+ Equality

What Local Leaders Are Doing to Stop Baby Formula Price Gouging

Cities and states are taking steps to make sure local retailers aren’t raising prices for a limited supply of formula across the U.S.

A sign on an empty shelf informs customers that there is no stock in the back for infant formula at a supermarket on May 23, 2022, in New York City. 

A sign on an empty shelf informs customers that there is no stock in the back for infant formula at a supermarket on May 23, 2022, in New York City. 

Photographer: Liao Pan/China News Service via Getty Images

Amid a national baby formula shortage in the US, city and state leaders are cracking down on sellers that have responded by jacking up the cost of the limited supply. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams last weekend declared a state of emergency and issued an executive order directing the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to take action against excessive prices. Washington, DC’s city council members followed, signing a district-wide anti-price gouging bill. And state leaders in Oregon and Georgia authorized their attorneys general to take action against anyone found to be overcharging for formula during this crisis.