No, you can’t get free baby formula from your state by calling these numbers

While the infant formula shortage persists in the United States, some parents may be looking for alternative means to get food for their babies. But don’t waste your time in a customer service phone tree to try to get free formula from your state. 

"Due to the shortage of formula if you call Enfamil or Similac they will notify the state you can’t find any for your child and the state will send you a 6 pack of 12 Oz cans to your address!," a May 16 Facebook post says. "For free! The shortage has gotten worse but it doesn’t hurt to call and ask!"

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The post gives genuine customer services numbers for Enfamil and Similac, two baby formula brands, but a spokesperson for Abbott, the maker of Similac, told us this isn’t true. There’s no process in which parents call the company, the company notifies the state in which they live, and then that state sends the parents six cans of free formula.  

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Enfamil did not respond to our questions about the post. We tried calling the customer service number provided in the post but were on hold indefinitely. 

Still, we found no credible reports to corroborate this claim. 

We rate this post False.