Sanitary protection when money is tight

My WI help a local women's refuge and food bank . We are always encouraged to donate tampons, towels and liners together with basic personal hygenie items ( roll on deodorants, soap, wipes etc). It's easy to forget that when money is very tight these things might be what you would try and go without . Terribly sad in this day and age isn't it?

Do food banks ask any questions of their clients? Questions must be asked when clients are referred. Couldn't the referral have a question about whether the client/client's family would need sanitary wear? It might be embarrassing, but it's less embarrassing than being without it when needed.
I use "Tena lady" protection and many older women need this. Seeing the people evacuated from tower blocks without anything, sleeping in community centres, I think how I manage without pads and a nearby toilet if I was there.

£1.75 20 super Tampax in Asda surely any mother would make sure they bought their daughter some and go without themselves, don't believe it. I would say it was neglect.

Thank you Moira. Yes we ask questions and some of them seem random, such as do you have a pet? a baby? This is because we have occasional donations of pet and baby food, or disposable nappies. We could easily ask about sanitary protection and shall. I think it is a wider problem, and would appreciate ideas to extend this to women who don't fall into the Food bank category.

A dilema indeed as you say this help shouldn't be just for food bank users. However, that would be a start. Would it be feasable to bag up feminine hygiene products along with deodrants etc. and let those with vouchers help themselves to a nondiscript bag to add to their food box.
Maybe pharmacies could be a collection point for those not using food banks. Who would issue the vouchers though ?
A very worthy cause, good luck with finding a solution.

ninny many mothers with daughters in their early teens will require them themselves. They can hardly "go without".
When you are living hand to mouth an extra £5 is a lot to find.

Thank you Nina. I don't want to be negative, but doubt that a pharmacy would be happy to give away products that they would prefer to sell.

Nina I like your suggestion of a help-yourself to a bag of personal items.

What about approaching someone like 'Boots' just a thought as they are such a hugh company!. Much the same as the big stores like M&S donating food etc.,
Such a sad story about young girls missing school.

My local Co-op pharmacy has a large box in which to donate sanitary items. Not sure how they are distributed.

I used a Tassie for most of my fertile life. It required only a one-off purchase payment and the same one lasted right through. You can't get much cheaper than that! It was so efficient and never leaked. It was more convenient if the toilet cubicle included a basin to wash it, but it wiped clean with loo roll if necessary. The current version is a Mooncup in silicone. I don't know whether many people know of their existence, they are not just for eco warriers! They would be ideal for those on a low budget. The company supplies overseas charities.
www.mooncup.co.uk/

Oh ninny just how intolerant are you prepared to get

I expect your so called elderly couple were using them as well

I will have to Google 'Tassie'

I don't know about including these in food banks ( unless sure of the need) but certainly babies nappies are expensive and would be appreciated.
I grew up in a very poor household, no money for anything, but never went without sanitary products ( awful as they were back then.) I agree with the poster who suggests it's more a case of neglect in some chaotic households than money.
I guess foodbanks could assess the need, from their clients.

Further to that....am guessing that they would already have been asked for perhaps ( in the food banks) if not, then either they are not needed or considered too embarrassing to ask and receive them.

Having looked at that link shysal there is no way that would have been of any use to me or indeed D. Enough said !

whitewater no I'm just not naive as you and some others appear to be. I was a single hard up mother myself but I always put my children first. In fact I have used rolled up toilet paper when I have been hard up as sanitary protection but wouldn't let my daughter miss school because I hadn't provided sanitary protection for her. I think it's neglect the parents will be getting child allowance. In fact I find it hard to believe.

rose How on earth do you know it's a case of neglect in chaotic households.

When was the last time you spoke to someone who needed the food bank and asked them whether they would like sanitary protection.

I don't suppose you have the vaguest idea -your childhood home was poor like so many back them - nothing unusual, but it is a whole different ball game now and it is sad that so many are prepared to find any excuse they can - like chaotic households, poor money managers etc. Anything rather than look at the type of society we are becoming.

ninny so were you a chaotic household or poor money manager?

Our local secondary schools maintain a supply of sanitary products for girls who are caught short at school. One of our WFI members who worked in one of these schools discovered that these were seldom requested and also that they had a 'use by date' and thus the bulk of these was sent to landfill once a year. She managed to persuade that school and through liaising with contacts in the other schools, all the schools to donate the surplus via WFI to the local food banks. As a bonus the food banks started to publicise the availability of such products AND the schools had another look at their policies and began to make towels and tampons available on a 'help yourself' basis in girls' toilets.

A post Christmas letter and offer to collect from local pharmacies resulted in a big haul of toiletries gift sets, mainly with damaged packaging, for food bank customers. When I worked with women's aid we found a great source of small toiletries (and also, single, milk, sweeteners. coffee and tea) in seasonal B & Bs who cleared out their stocks in the autumn and bought fresh in the spring.

No just a single mother whose husband left her supporting myself and my children paying a mortgage and providing a good safe home for them, with home cooked meals and nice clothes and going without myself if they needed something and I was short that week. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, so the saying goes.

Oh no * ninny* it isn't me who suggested that those who might used food banks are chaotic it was rose
I hand the pipe to rose.

ww first off...don't you dare tell me what my childhood was like! It was not like many others 'back then' I can tell you that for sure!

Secondly, there are chaotic households out there and many cases of neglect ( police often find households where children are grimy and underfed but the adults are all smoking and drinking non stop.)

Thirdly, if there is a need for these products then food banks can find out.....forms or gentle questions.

whitewave no I think the pipe belongs to you.