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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that buying mooncups (or similar) for a foodbank could be a good idea?

35 replies

MabelFigworthy · 16/08/2013 09:09

Switched to my incase-it-outs-me name!

It has come to my attention that my local foodbank is lacking in sanitary products. AIBU to think that mooncups etc. could be a good solution to this problem? Is it a bit weird? It just occurred to me that they're a cheap alternative, especially when the initial cost is irrelevant to a foodbank user.

In the interest of total honesty, I've never actually used one because I was pregnant when I first heard about them but I fully intend to buy one for myself once my periods kick back in. Hopefully not for a loooong time yet!

Are there any similar products that are a bit cheaper? I was considering getting a selection of probably larger sizes, given that the majority of women they see are older/mothers. We're really not particularly well off ourselves & I'd rather be able to get a few in different sizes than just one or 2.

So, what says the MN jury? Mooncups at a foodbank - yay or nay?

OP posts:
Feminine · 16/08/2013 09:14

No. No mooncups.

stick with own brand san pro. I'm saying that as you have said you are not rolling in it yourself! :)

can you put them in a food bank? :)

mrsjay · 16/08/2013 09:15

NO buy bodyform etc and tampons you cant really convert somebody to a mooncup most people would prefer normal sanitary protection imo I wouldnt go within a mile of a mooncup

Bearandcub · 16/08/2013 09:16

I think it's a very kind gesture. Yes they might not be everyone's personal choice and so might stay unused or returned. They might also be the practical and cheaper alternative that someone was looking to and unaware of.

ShatnersBassoon · 16/08/2013 09:17

I think sanitary towels and tampons would be better received, if they accept toiletries that is.

coraltoes · 16/08/2013 09:18

no. mooncups on the whole are still regarded as unusual and just cos someone is skint doesnt mean they will want to switch to them. Stick to mainstream san pro.

duchessandscruffy · 16/08/2013 09:19

Yes I agree. I have never heard of anyone outside of mumsnet using a mooncup, people probably wouldn't even know what it was, or if they did read the instructions would probably be very wary, and they probably wouldn't get used.

Stick with normal sanitary products. Lovely thought though, you sound very thoughtful! [Smile]

BrokenSunglasses · 16/08/2013 09:19

They aren't actually that cheap though are they? I know they work out cheaper in the long run, but I'd have thought that £20 could buy a lot of stuff that is needed more.

I'd also guess that anyone who needed San pro from a food bank would either already have a mooncup if that was their sanpro of choice, or that they would rather just have towels or tampons.

Nice idea though.

Ragwort · 16/08/2013 09:21

I think you mean well but it's a bit like saying 'lentils and pulses will make much cheaper & healther meals'. Yes, that might be true but it is not necessarily what people using food banks want - our local food bank shelves, where I volunteer, is full of unwanted tins of pulses - even a lot of the fresh veg that we now get from peoples' allotments etc isn't really wanted. So many people are at their lowest ebb when they come to a food bank that they really don't want to be faffing around with home grown chard or, dare I say it, mooncups Grin.

Silverfoxballs · 16/08/2013 09:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BrokenSunglasses · 16/08/2013 09:30

Don't some food banks allow people to choose what they want? I think our local one gets people to go round themselves so they can choose for example, four items from the fruit and veg table, four from the tins table etc.

In that sort of a food bank someone might find it useful, but I still think the money you could spend on a mooncup could be better spent on other things.

vibee · 16/08/2013 09:31

Are your food bank asking for sanitary products? They usually just ask for food, but they will have a list of requested items you can refer to. They also usually hand out a standard bag, rather than giving clients choices, so you'd be in effect forcing the choice onto someone. It sits awkwardly with me - you shouldn't get to choose how someone deals with their period just because they're poor. And while someone might be delighted, it is still quite a niche item. Feels like one of those things you have to seek out for yourself to me.

GrendelsMum · 16/08/2013 09:40

I think it's a good idea in theory, but in practice, my friend tells me that because people are usually feeling at their lowest when they visit a food bank, it's when they're least likely to want to tackle new foods, new ingredients and so on (hence not wanting to knock up a nutitious lentil and chard curry). I think a mooncup would hit the same problem - people wouldn't necessarily feel in the mood to try one.

AMumInScotland · 16/08/2013 09:59

I'm in the lucky position never to have had to use a foodbank. But, if I did, and I needed sanpro, I'd feel frankly patronised by someone trying to foist their own fads onto me because it was in their minds "better" for me not to have the products I am used to but something they in their middle-class wisdom have decided is better for the planet, and/or cheaper in the long term.

Give me that amount in tinned beans and own-brand tampons, and keep your saving-the-world for your own life.

Original poster
MabelFigworthy · 16/08/2013 10:00

Our foodbank does accept toiletries - we usually buy off-list things like nappies, baby food etc. that I've been told doesn't often get donated but is much needed. Toiletries etc. get put into a box that's available for people to look through & take what they need. They were actually asked for pads the other day, hence why a friend of mine has sent round a message to lots of women asking for donations.

I generally buy things that I think we'd struggle to afford if money was tight. Personally, I'd love a free mooncup... I'm definitely towards the lentil-weaving end of the scale though! Grin

Am off shopping today so I shall just stick to normal boring sanitary products for now but I might try to create a mooncup leaflet & leave it at the foodbank with the offer to buy a few if anyone expresses an interest. I guess there's a small chance that every woman who walks into the foodbank might ask for one but I have a few friends who would probably be willing to help out if there was a big demand! Smile

OP posts:
meganorks · 16/08/2013 10:10

No to Mooncups! I had never heard of them before mn and wish I never had. No intention of ever using one. I think if I was down in my luck and really needing the food bank I think that might be the final straw.
'No meganorks you can't have any tampons, but why don't you try this lovely mooncup'
Aagghh!

Yonihadtoask · 16/08/2013 10:20

Nice idea, but I also don't think it would work.

It would be an expensive mistake - if a woman took one to try and didn't like it. which is fair enough if you bought your own..

But for £20 you could buy probably 20 packs of Lidl tampons or towels .

Most people I know in RL don't know what a mooncup is either. I love mine, but don't feel the urge to go around evangelising about what I use up my chuff Grin

Must investigate local foodbanks - haven't seen a supermarket with a collection point in my area yet?

mrsjay · 16/08/2013 10:25

I dont think ive even seen a mooncup in the chemist not that i go looking but they are not that well known I dont think and how women deal with their period is private I agree with whoever said that. I think when we see a happy period advert for mooncups then they will have hit mainstream

WilsonFrickett · 16/08/2013 10:33

If my life was so tough that I had to use a foodbank, I think some well-meaning person suggesting the san-pro I was using was wrong in some way would send me over the edge, tbh. Possibly that says more about me than it does the person who made the donation/suggestion though...

noisytoys · 17/08/2013 12:45

Foodbanks are designed to meet a short term cashflow problem not be a long term answer to poverty so a pack of disposable tampons or towels will probably be plenty

sashh · 17/08/2013 13:22

Ina family with a mum and teenage girl who gets the moon cup? Packs of san pro can be shared.

Trills · 17/08/2013 13:27

While it sounds like a good idea (eventually it'll be cheaper per use than even cheap tampons) Id agree that people are almost certainly not in the mood.

Dayshiftdoris · 17/08/2013 13:39

Erm Silverfoxballs...

You have women of childbearing age using the food bank - yes?

It is for 'essential items' - yes?

Personally I believe sanitary protection to be 'essential' for a good number of women and it is expensive, if not impossible to afford on a very tight budget.

Most women in my experience as a midwife are embarrassed about their periods yet they have to get over that to ask for sanitary products from a food bank or it not seen as a demand?

I had never considered this issue OP but will be donating sanitary protection plus food at my next shop.

Al0uise · 17/08/2013 13:46

Long term the best thing we can do about SanPro is lobby for the VAT to be removed.

Every £5 that is spent the government gets £1.

Blood on their hands - literally.

Trills · 17/08/2013 14:18

Most women are embarrassed about their periods? Confused Is it the 1950s? Are we all 13?

Trills · 17/08/2013 14:20

Alouise - I agree that sanitary protection should be VAT-free, but it's not rated at 20%, only 5% (since 2001).

It's still too much, of course, but it's only £1 in every £20, not £1 in every £5.

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