(OSV News) — A TikTok content creator’s following exploded after she posted videos of her informal study on whether churches across the country would give baby formula to a mother whose 2-month-old infant had not eaten in more than half a day.
Of the dozens of churches Nikalie Monroe called, nine said yes including at least three that are Catholic.
TikTok series on churches’ response to request for baby formula
The short videos show a screen grab listing of the Google-searched church on the screen with Monroe, of Kentucky, on a call, asking for baby formula.
In the noncontrolled study, the real mom of two little boys sometimes used a recording of a crying baby in the background and did not read from a prepared script. Once she received a “yes” (or sometimes a “no”) she would reveal to the person on the line that the inquiry was a hypothetical scenario and describe her test.
Monroe, an Army veteran, explained to OSV News she decided to try the study to see what the church response would be to a food emergency with, at that time, the impending suspension of SNAP — the federal government’s
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, on Nov. 1 due to the
government shutdown.
SNAP is a major part of the nation’s social safety net that provides food support for 42 million Americans. During the 43-day shutdown, SNAP ran out of funds needed to fully fund it in November — a situation that shifted the burden of alleviating hunger entirely on churches, ministries and food pantries. The shutdown ended Nov. 12 after a
funding deal was reached in Congress, allowing SNAP funds to be issued to recipients later in November.
Monroe’s test lasted seven days, starting Oct. 31.
“I did have some more that I called that last day on the Friday,” she said. “I just didn’t post all the calls that day because they were all nos, and it was depressing. … I just decided, that day, I wasn’t going to call anymore about the baby formula. That was; it was hard.”
Monroe, a drug addiction counselor, said the overwhelming ratio of “noes” (79%) over “yeses” (21%) was not unexpected.
Continued below.
(OSV News) -- A TikTok content creator's following exploded after she posted videos of her informal study on whether churches across the country would give baby formula to a mother whose 2-month-old infant had not eaten in more than half a day. Of the dozens of churches Nikalie Monroe called...
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