Alameda County Launches One of the Largest Diaper Bank Programs in the Nation, Connecting Families to Wraparound Support Services
The program will provide a monthly supply of diapers and wipes to families in need, create jobs for the families it serves, and improve family health outcomes
OAKLAND, CA (May 19, 2025) – Alameda County has launched a historic, $5.8-million-dollar three-year initiative to tackle diaper need by providing monthly access to diapers and wipes for families with young children. Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam, First 5 Alameda County, Alameda County Social Services, the nonprofit SupplyBank.org, and others gathered today at Wilma Chan Highland Hospital in Oakland to celebrate the kickoff. The program, following several successful pilot efforts, will expand to distribute over 15 million diapers and 37 million baby wipes through more than 50 sites administered by trusted community-based organizations and public agencies, including family resource centers, libraries, WIC centers, school districts, health clinics, and hospitals.
Diapers are a basic need that directly affects a child’s health and a parent’s ability to work. Without a steady supply of clean diapers, families often cannot access childcare, limiting parents’ ability to maintain employment or attend school. As inflation pushes the cost of diapers over $100 per month per child, diapering supplies have become one of the most significant unaddressed cost burdens for low-income families, accounting for up to 14% of household budgets for those receiving cash aid. One in two families in the U.S. now struggles to afford diapering supplies. In California, diaper need results in an estimated 40,000 hospital visits annually, most involving families enrolled in Medi-Cal. Of those, 80 percent are to emergency rooms, where families seek care for preventable conditions like severe diaper rash and infections.
“Emergency rooms and urgent care are not the solution to diaper need,” said Supervisor Lena Tam, who chairs the Social Services Committee on the Board of Supervisors and whose district includes Wilma Chan Highland Hospital. “Research shows that one of the most effective means of addressing diaper need is to integrate diaper and wipe distribution into existing wraparound services provided by trusted local partners. This is why I am proud of our County and our partners’ collective leadership expanding one of the largest diaper bank programs in the Country to 50 sites across our county. No family should have to experience the harmful consequences of diaper need.”
The funding for this $5.8-million-dollar three-year program came from four agencies coming together to address this community need. Alameda County Social Services Agency, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Alameda County Probation Department, and First 5 Alameda County each contributed one-fourth of the total investment.
“Our $1.45 million investment in this program builds on the emergency diaper distribution efforts First 5 launched during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kristin Spanos, Chief Executive Officer of First 5 Alameda County. “Now, by blending funding across County partners into a single, unified contract, the Collaborative Diaper Distribution Program marks a significant evolution in our collective commitment to strengthening the safety net for young children and families. This is part of our ongoing progress toward an integrated early childhood system—one that aligns with broader early childhood system-building efforts and responds directly to the concrete needs of families.”
Funded by Alameda County and First 5 Alameda, the Diaper Bank Program is administered by Alameda County Social Services Agency and implemented by the nonprofit SupplyBank.org, which procures and coordinates the distributions of diapers and wipes at scale. Supplies are delivered to families through organizations and programs that support Medi-Cal recipients and other families on public assistance, including First 5’s Project DULCE (Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone) at Highland Hospital and Family Resource Centers. This model reduces stigma, strengthens family engagement, and helps connect families to additional critical services through a network of trusted community partners. SupplyBank.org’s procurement model further maximizes the program’s impact by sourcing diapers and wipes at a small fraction of in-store cost—an efficiency unavailable to the families it serves.
“The addition of diaper and wipe distribution through this network ensures that those who need assistance the most receive it,” said Benito Delgado-Olson, Executive Director of the nonprofit SupplyBank.org. “These partnerships enable stigma-free access for families, build trust with community service providers, and help connect families to even more critical resources. It’s a vital investment for our county’s families and our safety net.”
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About Alameda County Social Services: The Alameda County Social Services Agency promotes the economic and social well-being of individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities. Working collectively and in partnership with community-based organizations, neighborhood groups and policy makers to serve the needs of the community, the ACSSA reaches nearly 25% of the County’s 1.6 million residents to assure that all people’s basic needs are met and protect the most vulnerable children, older adults, homeless, immigrants and refugees. ACSSA serves the needs of the fourth most diverse County in the United States, and the seventh largest County in California. For more information on the Alameda County Social Services Agency, please visit www.alamedacountysocialservices.org.
About First 5 Alameda County: First 5 Alameda County builds the local early childhood system and creates the conditions needed to ensure that every child in Alameda County, regardless of race or family income, gets a strong start in life. First 5 Alameda utilizes a “whole community, whole family, whole child” approach, holistic partnerships, and systems collaboration to not only offer programs and services that support families, but also make sure they have health care, early care and education, access to good jobs, and a fair shot at getting ahead. Together with our community partners, we are moving from a patchwork system of services to an integrated system of care that gives all young children an opportunity to thrive. Learn more at www.first5alameda.org.
About SupplyBank.org: SupplyBank.org is an Oakland-based nonprofit public benefit corporation working with 700+ agencies, organizations, and public offices in California to build the nation’s first regional supply bank. Through partnerships with global supply chains and community organizations, SupplyBank.org provides a highly cost-effective and scalable mechanism for bulk purchasing and efficiently distributing necessary health, education, and emergency supplies to children, families, and communities that need them throughout California. Through cost savings related to both purchase price and distribution efficiencies, this approach allows SupplyBank.org to employ a business strategy often utilized by for-profit companies for the benefit of nonprofit organizations and working individuals and families, costing the agency pennies on the dollar. For more information, visit www.supplybank.org
