Providing period supplies to area schools and their students
The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank and its initiative Alliance for Period Supplies is partnering with The Little Bit Foundation to provide period supplies to St. Louis area schools and their students. The partnership will provide 100,000 period products to 2,500 menstruating students. Recently, two separate bills were proposed in the Missouri House of Representatives that would require school districts to provide period products at no cost in middle schools, high schools, and charter schools.
“We are so grateful to solidify this partnership with St. Louis Area Diaper Bank and thrilled to provide another essential resource to our families experiencing even greater financial distress during these difficult times,” says Rosemary Hanley, CEO and Co-founder of The Little Bit Foundation. “No parent should have to choose between which basic need they’ll have to sacrifice today.”
Currently, in the United States, only three states—California, Illinois, and New York— require schools serving students in grades six through twelve to provide menstrual products in restrooms for free. Millions of girls around the country are therefore forced to bring these products from home and face discomfort and lost educational time when they must leave class to go to the restroom, or have to ask the school nurse or a friend for one when they don’t have any.
“Menstrual products are largely viewed as luxuries rather than the basic needs they truly are, and this is an issue that must be acted upon. Many individuals are unaware of the fact that period poverty in the United States is real,” says Muriel Smith, Executive Director of the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank and its initiative Alliance for Period Supplies. “St. Louis students are experiencing period poverty at a higher rate than the previous year because of the pandemic.”