In this TikTok test of a baby formula emergency, 1 Catholic church really stood out

(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.

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.

She said, "I already work with patients where I personally refer them to churches, all the time because that's where everybody is told, 'If somebody needs help, you send them to the church.' So I was already getting told by all my patients, 'We go to churches. We don't get help.'"

But the TikToker in her 40s was still holding out hope for better results in the case of a starving baby.

"I thought it (would be) a solid yes," Monroe said. "And I didn't want to be proven wrong. I had my thoughts on it because of my experience with my patients but I wanted them to say yes. So it was very disheartening to hear all of the noes."

Three days into the TikTok series, Monroe said her following grew from 300 to thousands, with viewers expressing anger and disappointment over noes and kudos for the yeses. As of Nov. 17 she had more than half a million followers.

She created a top three of yeses list from among 42 calls to the houses of worship and at least one pregnancy center. The Pentecostal Heritage Hope Church of God in Somerset, Kentucky, took the top spot and No. 3 was the Islamic Center of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Our Lady of the Hills Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina, came in second. In that video, the person who answered the phone tried to look around the church, checked for formula at its food pantry and not finding any, she told Monroe to "just come" and if there was really no formula there, she would give her $10. At that point, Monroe disclosed her test.

"I was like, 'Oh, she's played with my feelings with this baby,'" said Alma Mendez, parish coordinator at Our Lady of the Hills. "And then I thought, 'You know what? No.' Maybe it was a wake up call from God ... because it's all about love. It's about sharing and helping one another."

Mendez, 58, said the next day, after the call, her sister's house outside Columbia burned down in a fire. The parish marketing staff texted her with a message of sympathy, but also told her "you've gone viral" on TikTok, and commended her for her action and helping to put the church in a positive light.

Mendez told OSV News she doesn't have a TikTok account, but she said getting the call was a "positive experience" because "for me, I'm going to be working to get" a baby food pantry at Our Lady of the Hills. She said Nov. 17 her proposal was currently under consideration.

A parish worker at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Alcoa, Tennessee, also stepped up to help. Some days later, another staffer made a followup call to Monroe to let her know about the church's food pantry program and its partnerships with the local Catholic Charities and Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and asked her to post its online fliers, noting it was a response to the suspension of SNAP.

A staffer at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri, replied there were "no programs for that" and referred Monroe to another Catholic church as well as the local Catholic Charities. This drew anger from commenters and a defense from someone who appeared to be familiar with the church who said it "truly is in poverty."

Monroe, who was raised Baptist but now calls herself "spiritual," said the experiment was not meant to denigrate churches. She told OSV News she has been struck by the positive response of some churches that had said no originally, to make changes in how they would react to future similar inquiries. She also recounted being tagged in viewers' own TikTok videos of giving baby supplies to food pantries and putting other baby needs in donation boxes.

She also said she has been heartened by the stories of people donating to the churches that said yes. The top "yes" church on her list, Heritage Hope, has reportedly received at least $95,000 in donations as a result of the series.

But Monroe said she has also received death threats over the postings, which garnered views in the hundreds of thousands to millions.

She said viewers commented the results have either made them want to return to church or leave their churches.

"I don't want people to test their faith because of this experiment," Monroe explained. "I'd rather (they) just open up their eyes and just be more cautious of what church they're going to, hold their churches to a higher standard and ... also give back and do what they're supposed to do in their communities. And let's not put all of the burden onto churches."