Lost NY: The Mother's Milk Bureau

There's another great FYI in today's City section that we feel obliged to point out to you.

Did you know that between 1921 and 1950 New York was home to an organization called the Mother's Milk Bureau? We certainly didn't though it makes total sense to us in retrospect.

"More than 45 mothers, who have passed strict physical examinations, now come daily to the bureau and contribute an average of 15 ounces of milk at each visit," The Times reported in 1938. "The milk is then pasteurized and subjected to a quick freezing process" using dry ice. In 1937 the bureau distributed "more than 5,000 quarts of milk to 600 babies."

"In 1936, the mothers were paid 13 cents an ounce plus carfare. Their milk was sold to hospitals for 25 cents and to private individuals for up to 30 cents an ounce; the impoverished got it free." Anybody know what those numbers translate to with inflation?

After World War II with the onset of formula milk banks went on the wane and nearly disappeared completely. In the past decade though, with interest in human milk growing, milk banks have started to reappear. Also, check out this old article about the bureau from Time in 1936 (only an abstract without subscription). Happy Mother's Day!