Up in Wisconsin, where she lives, my sister is conducting a tampon drive. Here in Tennessee one of my friends had one in conjunction with her annual holiday open house. I know because yesterday I picked the tampons up from her and took them to Bristol Faith in Action, where I work most Wednesdays, and put them in the storeroom. We give out half a dozen personal care packs every day so the supplies I brought in won't last long.
Several years ago, I was temporarily the Acting Director of BFIA. A woman came in, frantic--she was menstruating heavily and had no hygiene supplies or money to buy them. I didn't have any to give her. She walked away blinking back tears, humiliated, and I felt outraged on her behalf. I never saw that woman again, to my knowledge, but I went out that night and bought tampons for BFIA, and we've stocked them ever since.
You can't buy tampons with food stamps. You can't buy shampoo, laundry detergent, soap. You can't buy toilet paper. We've had clients come in who were using their socks for toilet paper.
You can't buy diapers with food stamps either. Before you tell me that cotton washable diapers would be cheaper, check your privilege, please. Most of our clients don't have washing machines. Coin-operated ones are expensive, and hauling several loads of dirty diapers to the laundromat each week is a huge commitment of resources. And day cares require children use disposable diapers--so if you want these parents to work, you realize they have to have diapers. We give those away at FIA too.
Back to tampons. Or pads. No one chooses whether or not to menstruate. It happens every month. A box of 20 tampons costs about four bucks at Food City right now. That might be enough for a month. It's about 35 minutes of a minimum wage job--over 10% of the work week you'd likely be getting (more than 30 hours a week requires benefits). So while it might not seem like much money to a middle-class person reading this, it can be cost-prohibitive on the lower end of the pay scale.
Personal hygiene supplies are one of the least-likely things to be donated to food banks or social justice organizations. This is something that should change.
So. Start your own tampon drive. Wherever you are. Toss a box in your cart the next time you're shopping. Drop them off at your favorite local organization.
Being poor shouldn't cost you your dignity.
Several years ago, I was temporarily the Acting Director of BFIA. A woman came in, frantic--she was menstruating heavily and had no hygiene supplies or money to buy them. I didn't have any to give her. She walked away blinking back tears, humiliated, and I felt outraged on her behalf. I never saw that woman again, to my knowledge, but I went out that night and bought tampons for BFIA, and we've stocked them ever since.
You can't buy tampons with food stamps. You can't buy shampoo, laundry detergent, soap. You can't buy toilet paper. We've had clients come in who were using their socks for toilet paper.
You can't buy diapers with food stamps either. Before you tell me that cotton washable diapers would be cheaper, check your privilege, please. Most of our clients don't have washing machines. Coin-operated ones are expensive, and hauling several loads of dirty diapers to the laundromat each week is a huge commitment of resources. And day cares require children use disposable diapers--so if you want these parents to work, you realize they have to have diapers. We give those away at FIA too.
Back to tampons. Or pads. No one chooses whether or not to menstruate. It happens every month. A box of 20 tampons costs about four bucks at Food City right now. That might be enough for a month. It's about 35 minutes of a minimum wage job--over 10% of the work week you'd likely be getting (more than 30 hours a week requires benefits). So while it might not seem like much money to a middle-class person reading this, it can be cost-prohibitive on the lower end of the pay scale.
Personal hygiene supplies are one of the least-likely things to be donated to food banks or social justice organizations. This is something that should change.
So. Start your own tampon drive. Wherever you are. Toss a box in your cart the next time you're shopping. Drop them off at your favorite local organization.
Being poor shouldn't cost you your dignity.
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