Local drive collects feminine hygiene products for women, girls in Upper Valley

LEAVENWORTH — Community partners are hosting a feminine hygiene product drive Sept. 5-19 to provide essential products to women and girls through Upper Valley MEND’s Community Cupboard and Cascade School District.

During the drive, community members can donate pads, tampons, liners, menstrual cups and discs, as well as adult diapers in sizes large and extra large. Though tampons are frequently donated, pads are the most in-demand product at the Community Cupboard, according to Rachel Bishop, MEND's Food Programs Manager.

Drop-off locations include Alpine Hot Yoga, Awake Bodies, Faith Lutheran Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Leavenworth Community Methodist Church and Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene. The drive will culminate in a collection event outside Safeway from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sept. 19.

"Feminine hygiene products are a necessity...not a luxury,” said community volunteer and drive organizer Betsy Fradd.

The drive was initiated by Fradd after Upper Valley MEND’s Community Cupboard made a public request for period supplies. The Community Cupboard has a non-food purchasing budget to provide these types of products to shoppers, but it also relies on community donations.

“We prioritize food, but when the community supports us in these other ways, it just makes it so that we're able to provide more well-rounded care for folks,” said Bishop.

While food is often the focus at the Community Cupboard, Bishop says she’s seen a demand for hygiene items. She explained that as the cost of living increases, people have to carefully consider what to spend their money on.

Shopper Erica Hernandez told MEND that she doesn’t always have the money to buy both food and feminine hygiene products, even though both are a necessity.

“It’s a big help to be able to get them here [at the Cupboard],” said Hernandez.

Period poverty, or a lack of reliable access to affordable menstrual products, can force students to miss school, adults to miss work, and people to forgo everyday activities, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies, a network of community-based nonprofits working to end period poverty in the U.S.

The nonprofit cited a 2021 study conducted by the brand U by Kotex®, which found that two in five women in the U.S. struggle to afford period supplies —- a 35 percent increase since its original findings in 2018. That same study found that over one-third of low-wage working women reported missing work, school or similar events due to lack of access to period supplies.

The drive is organized in partnership with Leavenworth Art Haus, Jubilee Fair Trade and Gifts, and Mint+Sprinkle.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media