Menstrual Equity Fund
Posted on January 09, 2024 by
Nobody should have to choose between paying for food and menstrual products.
As part of a Food Banks Canada pilot project to reduce menstrual poverty, SHARE distributed 95 cases of free tampons and pads through our Food Bank this winter. The product was donated by McKesson and distributed to over 200 people across the Tri-Cities from diverse low-income groups, irrespective of gender, age, and other identifying factors. Signage in the languages most spoken in our community was posted to ensure as many people as possible could read about the availability of the products at the Food Bank.
Menstrual products are a basic need and are essential to sexual and reproductive health. One in four households earning less than $40,000 a year experience period poverty, according to a March 2023 Women and Gender Equality Canada report.
SHARE is committed to advancing the work towards menstrual equity.
Food Banks Canada worked with Women and Gender Equality Canada to lead a national pilot to address period poverty in Canada through two objectives:
1 - To test a national approach to provide free access to menstrual products to diverse low-income communities across Canada.
2- To increase education and awareness of people’s knowledge of menstrual products, good practices, and period stigma.
This project was funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada.
#EndPeriodPoverty
Photo descriptions:
SHARE staff showing an example of the menstrual products available through the project and the signage that is displayed at the Food Bank
Examples of the posters on display at the Food Bank; languages included English, French, Ukrainian, Persian, Korean, and Cantonese