Food banks and period poverty

[Nocaloriesinchocolate]

I’m ashamed to say this has never crossed my mind before but on another thread I read a reference to “period poverty”, which is appalling. Would food banks accept sanitary pads/Tampax? (or whatever they’re called these days - no daughter and I’m pension age so well out of date)

Yes, they do accept them. I know my local one does.

I’ve also put together a homeless pack together recently and added sanitary towels.

My local one does. I know some clubs / groups that collect for food banks ask for things like sanitary towels, shower gel, shampoo, etc.

Yes they do, but check.

My food bank publishes lists of 'thanks to previous generosity we currently need no more' list, and sanpro has been on it for months.

They also have a 'really need more of these' list - shop from that one. Often includes deodorant and washing up liquid, if you want to donate things other than food. But check, because what mine needs might not be the same as yours

If a food bank won't take them, a hygiene bank almost certainly will. I think they request that for sanpro, packaging is unopened.

Boots do collections for the hygiene bank, they were doing a big promo recently with unilever (sure, dove etc) matching donations

As above. Ours would gratefully receive this, and soap, deodorant etc.

Yes we do. You might also find that you have other women's services nearby that will also take them. But do check. There was a drive for all sorts of non food stuffs a while ago and, along with commercial donations, your local banks may have enough.

We aren't going to make period poverty go away, but we can help individual women in need.

My daughters uni have a hygiene bank in a discreet corner where everyone can help themselves to soap/sanpro/deodorant etc which I thought was a great idea. I'm not sure if every uni/college has something similar.

It's worth finding out if your local food bank uses the app bankthefood. It lets you know what items they are particularly in need of

I think there’s a scheme where you go to supermarkets and say a code word to get sanitary products 🤔

Yes - the one outside of my local Waitrose has a list of items needed and it occasionally lists things like sanitary wear, nappies etc. what surprised me most is how often they ask for fresh food and butter/dairy products! Distribution must be pretty immediate.

Our local one certainly takes them. It was explained to me that they put them and toiletries in a separate section and you can chose one item each time you visit. At the time there weren't many items in that section, so I guess that's why they have to limit it.

My dc school (secondary) offer free san pro and they state they're for students and their families. I'm not sure where they get them from though. I assume local businesses donate.

Thank you so much everyone. I’ll definitely use one of these options

£20 on Amazon you can get bamboo reusable pads. I've been using these all year. one off cost and helps the environment. They go in the washing machine.

The fact that some people sadly don't have a pound or two to buy a pack of sanpro would also mean they certainly don't have £20 to spend on reusable pads, however long they last.

Also, many don't have enough money for washing detergent or the energy bills to use a washing machine. It's a very sad and unjust state of affairs but you sound very out of touch making these statements.

I would check, the one that has a collection point at our sainsburys usually has an "items we really need" list stuck on the box and that definitely includes some toiletries as I bought shower gel for it recently.

I usually add sanitary products and nappies to the food bank collection at the supermarket. Obviously they will be needed and I'm sure not many think of donating them. They always ask for shower gel, toothpaste, toilet rolls etc so they're clearly not just looking for pasta and porridge!

We can't give those out. Staff tend to buy them and take them home.

The sad reality is that many women don't have the facilities to wash them. Live lives where washing them in a sink would cause immediate issues.

Period poverty is not only about affording sanpro but also about being stigmatised, controlled because of menstruation.

I noticed sanitary cups are being given away in a large public library.

Need access to safe running water, but most people even homeless can get that (free public loos if not elsewhere).

Thanks for that info. We are in discussion about those, for the food bank and crisis centre. They could make a real difference for some of our clients. I'll see if I can find who is sponsoring a library, see if they'll help an indy charity too 🙂

Most do. Always worth looking at social media or emailing to see what they are actually short of.