The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and our North County Food Bank chapter established our Period Supply Program to help provide a basic need for people living in poverty.
Period supplies are basic necessities, but 1 in 4 menstruating Americans went without them this year due to a lack of income, and over one-third of low-income women in the U.S. report missing work, school, or similar events due to lack of access to period supplies. Lowered attendance at work and school can lead to lower performance and fewer opportunities, reinforcing the cycle of poverty.
Unfortunately, safety-net programs like WIC and SNAP don’t allow for the purchase of tampons and pads, and only 4% of Americans know a local resource where free or reduced-cost period supplies are available.* While the Food Bank is the regional expert in feeding people, we want to do more than put food on the table of those facing food insecurity. We want to address the root causes of poverty. Addressing poverty and its root causes means looking at the broad disparities that exist in our community and establishing effective solutions. The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank is committed to ending poverty, and through our Period Products Program, we will work to address this disparity in our region.
To learn more about “period poverty” and what it means, click the green button for an insightful PDF provided by the Alliance for Period Supplies.
Are You or Someone in Your Family in Need of Period Supply Products?
The Food Bank partners with several nonprofit organizations to distribute period supplies throughout San Diego County. Each location has different operating hours, and may have different eligibility criteria to receive period supplies. Please reference our approved partner distribution sites list below.
Period supply distribution lists were last updated August 31, 2022.
Building a Network for Period Supplies
With a current network of nearly 500 nonprofit partners, many of whom serve broad needs beyond the distribution of food, the Food Bank is poised to affect a positive change. Using our existing network of partners, the Food Bank will begin distributing critically needed period supplies throughout San Diego County. In 2016, the Food Bank expanded our programs to begin serving as a Diaper Bank, and we are now distributing three quarters of a million diapers every month. Our program will build upon the infrastructure of our diaper distribution partners to establish regular distributions of much needed period supplies.
Period supplies are an essential resource for our community and one that, unfortunately, carries a great deal of stigma. With community support, we can address this unmet need, ensuring those who menstruate have access to these resources so that they can work, live and thrive in San Diego County.
*Facts are from the Alliance for Period Supplies.
The Food Bank is an official member of the Alliance for Period Supplies, which works to end period poverty in the United States.
