Lack of period products is causing kids to skip school. This initiative offers free supplies.

APPLETON — Before the pandemic, a group of women across northeast Wisconsin nonprofits came across a problem in their community: students were skipping school because they couldn't access necessary period products.

They found that students who lacked access to period products felt they couldn't participate in school clubs or sports, or were too embarrassed to go to class.

"We found out girls weren't going to school because of this and it was outrageous to this group of women," Vice President of Northeast Wisconsin at Feeding America Liz Wollenberg told The Post-Crescent.

The group started having frequent discussions on how to combine their skills and connections to fix the "straightforward" issue of getting students the supplies they need.

Together, the group of volunteers created The Monthlies Project, a community initiative aimed at providing free period products to students across northeast Wisconsin.

A lack of period products is keeping students out of school

The northeast Wisconsin initiative joins a national movement toward period equity, which has seen 23 states lift taxes on period products and 19 states and Washington, D.C., require schools to give these products to students.

Wisconsin isn’t one of these states, but legislators like state Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, have introduced bills on both subjects in recent years.

Advocates and policymakers say both strategies cut down on "period poverty," a term that describes the lack of access to and education on period products.

When students lack access to period products, it can interfere with their ability to get an education. A 2021 study from U by Kotex found that one in four U.S. teens have missed class due to lack of access to period supplies.

And for low-income students that number is higher — 38% of girls reported missing work or school due to lack of supplies.

Coordinator of Family and Community Engagement for the Appleton Area School District Julie Bargholtz said she's noticed this in Appleton schools, where students are missing classes to go home and grab period products.

"We know that if any kind of issues arise during the school day and our students need to leave to take care of it, the likelihood of them coming back is pretty small," Bargholtz said.

In some cases, period poverty manifests as the inability to afford menstrual supplies. With the average person spending $20 on supplies per cycle, the cost of period products can be a burden on low-income households — especially those with multiple menstruators.

A 2019 study found two-thirds of low-income women struggle to buy period products, with almost half saying they couldn’t buy both food and period products with their monthly budget.

“It’s really a financial burden for a lot of families to provide these products,” Julie Keller, executive director of the Women's Fund for the Fox Valley Region, said.

Northeast Wisconsin organizations come together to address period poverty

The initiative officially began in 2022 when a group of volunteers from various local organizations including Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, the Women’s Fund of the Fox Valley, Fox Communities Credit Union, The Boldt Company, Coalesce Marketing and Design and ThedaCare came together to address local period poverty.

Together they make up the Monthlies Project to fund, source and deliver period products to students throughout northeast Wisconsin.

“It’s a true collaborative effort,” Keller said. “Everybody is taking a piece of what they do and what they do well and contributing to the project.”

The way the project works is that schools and organizations that serve students determine their need and reach out to the Monthlies Project for the number of products they need.

These places then place the products in bathrooms, free for use, to ensure students who need these products have access.

Monthlies Project provides period products to over 100 schools and organizations

Period products purchased by the Monthlies Project are fully funded through local donations through the Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region.

At the initiative’s most recent fundraiser in October, it raised over $80,000 giving the group enough money to supply period products for almost 240,000 days for menstruators.

According to Wollenberg, each dollar raised for the initiative equates to three days worth of period products for one student.

And since 2022, the project has provided period products to 106 schools and organizations in northeast Wisconsin including the Appleton and Green Bay school districts and local Boys and Girls Clubs.

Appleton Area School District received 25,000 products in the 2022-2023 school year across its 15 schools.

Within the first week Appleton schools received supplies, Bargholtz said Appleton North High School reported it was able to keep a couple students in school because it provided those back-up products to students in need.

Bargholtz said, "We know that if we can provide on-site products for students, it helps with keeping our attendance at good rates."

Sophia Voight covers local government and politics in the Fox Valley for The Post-Crescent. She can be reached with feedback and story tips at svoight@postcrescent.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Northeast Wisconsin's Monthlies Project provides free period products to students