'Period poverty' spotlighted as Junior League sets up Period Product Pantries at Shore
It's hard to talk about periods.
And that silence, say representatives of the Junior League of Monmouth County, makes combatting period poverty — inadequate access to menstrual care products, education and/or sanitation — even tougher.
"It's periods and it's stigmatized," said Alexandra McMenamy, president of the Junior League of Monmouth County. "We're finding that people don't even realize that this is an issue and this is even something that needs to be addressed. I think it's been quite the education for people. There are girls that don't go to school for three and four days a month because they don't have proper products."
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No federal aid programs can be used to purchase period products, the Junior League says, and up to one in four individuals who need them struggle to obtain them.
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About the League
The Junior League is made up of over 300 individuals "with diverse backgrounds who are passionate about empowering and developing the potential in women through volunteering in the Monmouth and Ocean counties community to make it an even better place to live," according to its mission statement.
A large part of its work engages in social and community service initiatives.
"During the COVID lockdown, we had to pivot what we were working on. Our initial shift was to food collection and doing a food drive. We supplied 75 families in Red Bank with groceries throughout the spring and summer of 2020," said Morgan Gaynor, community director for the Junior League.
The group then began to look into other needs of people experiencing poverty in the area and discovered through working with diaper banks that there was a need for period products.
Addressing a need
"There weren't any organizations dedicated to that issue," Gaynor said, "but a lot of the food banks and diaper banks were saying that they got requests for those products all the time, so we thought that would be a great way for us to leverage our membership and address something in our community."
They started collecting individually wrapped period supplies and partnering with Trinity Church in Asbury Park for distribution, have collected over 10,000 products since March.
The Junior League hopes to expand its reach throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties by opening Period Product Pantries throughout the area. It will unveil plans for its first during a fundraising Holiday Market on Saturday.
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The pantries will be outdoors and allow people in need to access them at any time.
The group will begin accepting applications from those who are interested in hosting a Period Product Pantry soon.
The Holiday Market will feature all women-owned small businesses, including: Jake's Gems, Hopscotch, June and Joy, Danirisi, Lili's Kiosque, Board & Brush, Coastal Decor, wine bling, Bungalow Road, Claudia Chloe, Le Fashion Cottage and Mod 39.
The Holiday Market will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, at Junior League of Monmouth County headquarters at 55 Center St. in Rumson. The Junior League will be collecting individually wrapped period products at the event.
Equity and access
In addition to combating period poverty, the Junior League is also advocating for period equity and access.
In short, says Gaynor, "men go to the bathroom and have everything they need, so why shouldn't women?"
"So while our main mission is to ensure that products are being given to people that can't afford them, we're also advocating that products should be available wherever women might need them," she said. "We are starting to advocate that if you are buying toilet paper and supplying a public bathroom you should also be supplying these products."
To learn more about the Junior League and its work, visit jlmc.org.
Ilana Keller is an award-winning journalist and lifelong New Jersey resident who loves Broadway and really bad puns. She highlights arts advocacy and education, theater fundraisers and more through her column, "Sightlines." Reach out on Twitter: @ilanakeller; ikeller@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ menstrual care awareness, collection to be held Nov. 20 in Rumson
