Keystone Today

Gov. Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf announced a $1.75 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant for ByHeart, which will allow the company to become the fifth infant formula manufacturer in the country.

The grant is being used to complete a canning line and dry blend area at a new facility in Reading, according to a June 1 release by Wolf’s office. It is expected to create 50 jobs.

“The United States is facing a critical infant formula shortage that’s causing pain for families right here in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. “The shortage is fueled, in part, by the fact that the nationwide market is dominated by just a few manufacturers. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to invest in a solution and that ByHeart chose Pennsylvania as home. They’re simultaneously feeding families and feeding our local economy.”

Pennsylvania is the first state in the country to invest in solving the formula shortage crisis that has hit the U.S., according to the release. Mia Funt, ByHeart co-founder and president, said that when the company was founded it made a commitment to own and oversee its supply chain by acquiring manufacturing and sourcing all ingredients, all while conducting the largest clinical trial in more than 25 years.

“We knew we had to do the hard work to deliver the most wholesome and nutritious alternative to breast milk – with cleanest ingredients – so parents could feel confident about how they feed,” Funt said. “What we didn’t know at the time was how valuable this approach would become in having levers in our control to show up for parents in this shortage crisis, and we appreciate all support and investment from the commonwealth towards ByHeart’s continuing efforts to fortify infant nutrition’s critical infrastructure.”

Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Fleetwood) said that the ongoing infant formula shortage has drastically affected parents in Pennsylvania and across the country.

“Pennsylvania’s rich food production industries place us in a position to help ease the burden people are feeling and increase the supply of a product that is crucial to the health and well-being of babies,” Schwank said. “ByHeart is a company that saw all of the positives the commonwealth had to offer and made a big investment here in Pennsylvania that will benefit our economy while helping to ease the shortage nationwide.”

Isabella Torres, a mother of a 3-month-old baby in Reading, said that she and other mothers have been desperate to find formula. She said they traveled to other states to find formula and searched for formula on social media.

“While I am still worried, I am also grateful and hopeful,” Torres said. “Hopeful that investments in facilities like ByHeart will increase baby formula production so that parents like me don’t need to worry any longer.”