The Greater Hampton Roads Diaper Bank provides diapers to low income and underpoverished families in the Greater Hampton Roads area. This includes Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Smithfield, and Newport News. This past year the Diaper Bank distributed 28,000 diapers per month to the needy families. However, the demand in the area is far more than the amount we can supply. There is an average demand of 100,000 diapers per month. 

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WHAT IS DIAPER NEED?

The lack of a sufficient supply of diapers to keep a baby clean, dry and healthy

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 FAST FACTS

·         5.2 million children in the U.S. aged three or younger live in poor or low-income families.

·         1 in 3 American families reports experiencing diaper need.

·         Diapers cannot be obtained with food stamps.

·         Disposable diapers cost $70 to $80 per month per baby.

·         No state or federal child safety-net program allocates dollars specifically for the purchase of diapers.

·         Without transportation, buying diapers at a convenience store rather than a large “big box” store can significantly increase the monthly cost of diapers.

·         Infants require up to 12 diapers per day, toddlers about 8.

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NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

·         Babies who remain too long in a soiled diaper are exposed to potential health risks.

·         Most childcare centers, even free and subsidized facilities require parents to provide a day’s supply of disposable diapers.

·         Cloth diapers are not accepted at the vast majority of child care centers.

·         Many parents cannot go to work or school if they can’t leave their babies at child care.