Half of Cape Fear families struggle to afford diapers, local bank steps in

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — One in two families in the Cape Fear region struggles with buying diapers, forcing many to sacrifice other essentials just to get by.  

The Lower Cape Fear Branch of The Diaper Bank of North Carolina works to fill that gap.  

Volunteers wrap diapers and gather supplies to load into a van to get to families who need them most.  

About 10 percent of what they give out comes from community donations, with the vast majority purchased in bulk by the diaper bank.  

Julie Bowling is the director for The Lower Cape Fear branch.  

She says the need isn’t just about supplies; it’s about preventing larger consequences for families. 

“If you can’t afford all the diapers that you need then you’re looking at, you know, health issues, you’re looking at maybe the parent or caregiver needing to miss work in order to deal with those health issues, and so we really feel like here at the diaper bank that having enough diapers is a dignity issue and that everybody should be able to have enough diapers,” said Bowling.  

Bowling says the demand continues to grow, with certain sizes at the front of the list.  

“We keep our wish list updated with our most needed items. Generally, those items tend to be our larger diaper sizes. We can never have enough of size 5, size 6, size 7 diapers, pullups. Children tend to be in those sizes longer, so we need more of them,” says Bowling. 

She also says that by working with other agencies, that van full of supplies will do more than meet just one need. 

“We partner with non-profit agencies all over the Cape Fear region and the idea is that those agencies will then be the ones to distribute them to the families that they’re serving and then that way the families can not only get connected to our hygiene products and diapers, but also the other resources that those agencies offer,” said Bowling.