COLUMBUS, Ohio — Inside a small warehouse in Grandview Heights, Jimmy Mehl is packaging diapers into boxes. 50 diapers per box.
He runs the Columbus Diaper Bank, which collects diapers from companies like Huggies and donates them to the community to fill a growing need.
"We were up by 48% by diaper distribution, last year," Mehl said.
Last year, around 380,000 children were served in central Ohio. This year, he hopes to help 500,000 children.
Mehl attributes the higher diaper demand to people not being able to find jobs that pay enough to support their families.
Sarah Posten knows that feeling. As a mother of three, she would come to places like Little Bottoms Free Store in west Columbus to get free diapers.
"It was a lifesaver," she said.
The Little Bottoms Free Store helped Posten stretch her family budget.
Even with her and her husband working, it was a tug of war for Posten's family to decide between diapers or keeping the lights on.
"This $25 or $30 can actually go a really long way for the other kids in the house that we need food, or we need to pay another bill to keep the electricity on or keep the water running," she says.
To give you an idea of the demand, Little Bottoms served 500 children at this time last year. This year it's 1,100 children, which is more than double.
Heidi Weaver-Smith, who is the executive director of Little Bottoms Free Stores, said 70% of the families who come to the place earn $20,000 or less a year.
"We know for an average family it cost $80 a month just to put diapers on one child. That's a heavy cost when you are accounting for every dollar in your budget," said Weaver-Smith.
Ohio is one of several states that continues to charge sales tax for diapers.
The states highlighted in red don't charge sales tax on diapers.
When asked about the sales tax, Governor Mike DeWine's spokesperson told 10TV, "we are actively considering the feasibility of removing the sales tax on diapers and will be exploring this with the legislature."
A spokesperson for Democratic candidate for Ohio Governo Nan Whaley told 10TV, "Nan is certainly open to looking at ways to further ease these costs, including eliminating the sales tax on diapers."
Meanwhile, those who run the Columbus Diaper Bank say it needs more donations. Right now, they're able to provide 50 diapers a month per child, but that will depend on how long their supply lasts.
If you would like to donate diapers, you go to the Columbus Diaper Bank's website or the Little Bottoms Free Store's website.
To learn more about the diaper need in Ohio, click here.