BATON ROUGE - With news of U.S. health officials reaching an agreement with major infant formula maker Abbott to restart production, the baby formula shortage could finally see some relief in the coming months.

In the meantime, it's important for anxious parents to know what resources are available to ease the struggle of searching for formula. 

Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping families with a variety of services, including supplying baby formula to those who need it. At Family Road, they have generic brand formula stockpiled and available for use as a substitute to any name-brand formula.

“So what you need to do is just let us know what formula you actually use and then we can look to see what the substitution is and give you the appropriate formula for your baby," said Dena Christy, CEO and President of Family Road.

Dr. Mindy Calandro, a pediatrician for more than 12 years, says generic and store-brand formulas are perfectly interchangeable with more well-known brands. However, she says homemade formulas using animal or plant milk can be especially dangerous and should be avoided.

“I caution families against using homemade formulas, watering down formulas or using formulas that are not intended for infants," Dr. Calandro said.

Family Road encourages those in need of formula in the Greater Baton Rouge area to contact them via phone at 225-201-8888. Formula is free of charge and served on a first-come, first-serve basis.