PHOENIX — Sitting on the patio of his Ahwatukee restaurant, Patrick Larson held his baby girl, cooing and waving at anyone who'll wave back.
"Charlotte. Charlotte Hope," Larson said.
She came in the midst of tough times for Larson's family.
"It took us 8 years to bring Charlotte into this world and pretty much down to our last chance," Larson said. "And that's why her middle name is Hope. We just never gave up hope."
Charlotte is now 10 months old after being born prematurely.
"She's on a specific formula because she has a dairy allergy. So we can't just, you know, substitute or pick something else," Larson said.
Larson came across a post on the Facebook group, Ahwatukee411. The picture showed little availability of formula at a store in the area.
But one of the options available was what Larson needs for Charlotte.
Larson posted asking for help, that if someone saw it, to buy it and he'd make sure to give them a "tip" for their help.
"Various people tried to help with ideas and things that they saw could potentially work or you could potentially find it," Larson said.
Ellie Crystal, who was just an acquaintance of Larson's, having an event at his restaurant, Cafe Boa weeks back, spotted Larson's plea for help.
"I just felt awful," Crystal said. "I feel awful for all the parents out there."
Crystal is a mom to two older kids.
"I was stressed out as a new parent and I can't imagine having the stress of not being able to feed your kids," Crystal said.
Crystal drove to seven different stores from Laveen to Ahwatukee in search of the formula Larson needs.
"I saw his kind, and like, 'Wait, I need that!" Crystal said.
Crystal was able to pick up three containers to help feed Charlotte.
"It was a great moment," Larson said. "I was sweating from my eyes a lot yesterday."
All over social media groups connected to the Valley, neighbors are posting how they've seen different types of formula available at certain stores, as others post looking for their baby's formula.
"It's just kind of flashbacks to the early days of the pandemic when shelves were empty. But it's, it's so much worse because this is baby formulas, this is not things that you can maybe go without, this is something that you need in order to survive," Larson said.
Larson and Crystal both encourage others to help where they can.
As Larson now has the hope to help feed his baby girl for a while.
"She's already tiny, so we can't be skipping any meals," Larson said.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Escribió en las redes sociales que buscaba fórmula para su bebé y una mujer del valle recorrió las tiendas para encontrarla
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.