“Period Poverty” is a startling reality in the Fox Valley. Did you know that a lack of access to menstrual health products can cause students with periods to miss or be late to class, or feel anxious about period care? Menstrual products are expensive in the U.S., which makes it difficult for people, especially teens, to afford period products. Instead, they may rely on what is supplied by school districts and stored within a school clinic or school nurse’s office.

The Monthlies Project is a new initiative in the Fox Valley aimed at providing menstrual health products to school-aged students and bringing awareness to the issue of period poverty and the educational inequity it creates.