Brooklyn's Central Library provides free menstrual products
NEW YORK -- Amid the rows of books, behind the reference desk, stands the Brooklyn Public Library's new "Period Pantry."
The project is the brainchild of young adult librarian Rakisha Kearns-White. All the products on the shelves are donated, and free for everyone.
"I've been very lucky that staff and my friends have just been sending boxes of products to keep it fully stocked," Kearns-White told CBS2.
The idea came after an encounter with a visitor who got caught in an uncomfortable situation.
"A young person came and was caught unawares and we had no products in our bathrooms, and none of the male librarians knew how to help her. So they came to me and then it just kind of clicked from there," Kearns-White explained.
The pantry was set up at the start of this year under The Cycle Alliance, a group formed in 2019 to destigmatize conversations around menstruation.
Rula Phan is part of the teen-led advocacy group.
"I think its important for people to realize that its normal, its natural, and its nothing bad," the 19-year-old said.
Students volunteer to both learn and educate others about period poverty.
"Period poverty is the inability for a person to buy period products. Also, it's the inability to have a private or clean space to perform any hygiene related to menstruation. It also includes the misinformation about menstruation, which includes a lot of old wives' tales and urban legends," Kearns-White said.
According to Period.org, in 2021, 23% of young people in America struggled to afford period products and 16% of students had to choose between buying pads and buying food. Statistics show that students of color, lower-income students, and those living in rural places are most impacted by a lack of access to feminine hygiene products.
The pantry is surrounded by books about reproductive health because library leaders believe everyone can benefit from a little education about menstruation.
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