“Best of Insight”: A UC Merced Study reveals how families and caregivers resorted to unsafe feeding practices following infant formula shortages in 2022. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who is the first Hmong to lead a major U.S. city.

Infant formula shortage study

The pandemic squeezed supply chains around the world, but one of the most serious shortages raising the anxiety levels of millions of American families was the shortage of infant formula. Strains were made worse last year by the recall of one major formula brand and the closure of a critical production facility in the Midwest for months. As a result, the formula shelf was empty in about 70 percent of stores across the country in May 2022, with 10 states, including California, where the “out of stock” rate in stores reached 90%. This left families and caregivers in an anxious search for formula. One of those mothers was Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, a mother of two and a professor at UC Merced, who studies the psychology of breastfeeding. Her experience motivated her to conduct a nationwide study on the impact of the formula shortage on families and Holbrook joined Insight to tell us about the difficult decisions families had to make in trying to feed their infants during this crisis. 

Mayor Sheng Thao

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is the first Hmong to lead a major U.S. city. The 38-year-old was born and raised in Stockton, overcoming poverty, domestic violence and homelessness to become the 51st mayor of one of the largest cities in California. Mayor Thao joins Insight to share how her personal journey shaped her approach to leadership.

Financial literacy in Califoria

Shawn Varshney is an Oak Ridge High School student from El Dorado Hills, and the cofounder of “Financial Literacy for You” a peer-to-peer nonprofit organization working to address the need for financial literacy. He joined Insight to share how he's helping his peers understand the world of loans, credit cards, and overdraft fees instead of learning the hard way as adults.