Diaper drives scheduled to help Panhandle families in need

SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — According to the National Diaper Bank Network, one in three U.S. families struggles to provide enough diapers for their kids.

To help panhandle families, diaper drives will be held during National Diaper Need Awareness Week.

In South Walton County, the community is asked to stuff a Walton County Sheriff’s Office patrol car with all sizes of diapers. The car will be set up at the administrative office on 133 Sheriff Drive in Santa Rosa Beach.

Caring & Sharing Diaper Drive information.

There are also drop-off locations around Walton County and ways to give monetarily online.

Caring & Sharing
Specialty Roofers
Palm Folly
La Luna Children’s Boutique
Christ the King Episcopal Church
The Tree House Episcopal
Montessori School
Point Washington United Methodist Church and Preschool
South Walton Seahawks
The Rosemary Beach Foundation and Rosemary Beach Cottage Rental Agency

Babies require up to 12 diapers per day, at a cost of $70-$80 per month per baby. That’s where Caring and Sharing South Walton comes in to help.

The non-profit spends around $1,000 a month on childcare needs and said that only lasts about two weeks due to the number of families in need.

In August, Caring and Sharing provided diapers to 230 families.

“We want any family who comes through our food pantry, who needs diapers to have diapers for their kids. And we don’t want them having to choose between getting their kids diapers and paying the utility bill or, you know, the rent,” said Emily Proctor, caring and sharing director of outreach.

“Our numbers are increasing. I wanted to share with you that we saw 477 families last month. And when I started, we were around 300. So it’s been a few years. So our numbers are constantly ticking up. So that equates to about 1,600 individuals and this last month, 632 of those were children under the age of 18,” said Lynne Adcox, caring and sharing director of operations.

A diaper drive is also taking place in Panama City with the local Junior League.

Diaper Drive drop-off locations include: