Bridget Cutler was still adjusting to being a new mom when she read a magazine article that changed her life.

"It was about a mother who decided to give her child up for adoption because she couldn't stand to hear her crying from hunger," Cutler remembered. "I just thought that no mother should ever be faced with that choice."

It can cost close to $250,000 to raise a child in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture - and that is just for the basics. It's especially tough for families in New Jersey, where one in eight people struggle to make ends meet.

The following day, Cutler called her "mom friends" and started collecting gently used baby items.

"I had the intention, originally, of finding a local organization to donate them to that would benefit my neighbors," said Cutler, 34.

When she did not find what she was looking for, Cutler's idea for Moms Helping Moms was born. Since 2011, the nonprofit has distributed diapers, clothing, nursing supplies and other baby essentials for hundreds of infants and toddlers in New Jersey.

"So many people have such an abundance, and so many others strive to afford even the basics," Cutler said. "What we're doing is trying to bridge that gap."

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