The importance of access to period supplies

Community Cupboard employee Laurie Peek (left) poses with Betsy Fradd and a donation of feminine hygiene supplies.

For anyone who needs period supplies and is also struggling to make ends meet, sometimes the math is impossible. What do you do when you need pads or tampons and the money won’t stretch far enough to cover them, in addition to all your other expenses?

“I don’t always have the money to buy both food and feminine hygiene products,” says Community Cupboard shopper Erica Hernandez.

Period poverty—the inability to afford period products—affects 60% of women and girls living below the poverty line in Washington State, says the Alliance for Period Supplies. Lack of access to period supplies causes many people to miss work or school.

In addition to food, the Community Cupboard has tampons and pads available for shoppers. However, recently those products have been running out faster than they used to. To help ensure everyone gets what they need, community member Betsy Fradd decided to run a feminine hygiene product drive with the support of local businesses and churches. The products will go to the Community Cupboard and Cascade School District to ensure anyone who needs them can get them.

“Sometimes I can’t buy them because I’m prioritizing buying food,” says Erica. “It’s a big help to be able to get them here [at the Cupboard].”

Many local businesses and churches will have collection bins available for product drop offs from September 5 to 19. The collection will culminate with a drive at the Leavenworth Safeway on September 19 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., where shoppers can buy feminine hygiene products and drop them off at the collection table on their way out the door.