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CAC launches menstrual equity initiative, raising funds for period products
By Chloe Kucera, Faribault Daily News
May 2, 2025
One in four women in the United States cannot afford the period products they need, with the average price of those supplies exceeding $150 a year.
And despite being a basic necessity, these products are not covered by SNAP benefits.
The Community Action Center recognizes this lack of access affects millions of people. They have launched a menstrual equity initiative, “Go with the Flow. Period.” The initiative raises money to keep period products stocked at their food shelves.
“It is an initiative to both raise awareness about period poverty and the need for menstrual products in our community, and it’s also a fundraiser,” said CAC Senior Director Anika Rychner. “it’s intended to be an initiative that lives on throughout the year.”
They have teamed up with the Faribault Chamber of Commerce and their Ladies Night Out on May 8 to debut a fun pop-up exhibit spotlighting vintage period ads at the Upper East Side. Along with the gallery, there will be games, activities, prizes, wine, and a photo booth with comical period product props.
“The idea is to have fun and to just be in solidarity with people in our community, with each other, and with people who are in need of menstrual products,” Rychner said. “We’ve got some educational things happening. We’ve got a gallery called ‘Through the Ages. Period.’ It’s a display of period product advertisements for the last 100 years. They’re actually pretty comical. Some of them are from the ‘20s and ‘30s and on.”
This event is an opportunity to recognize the progress made in removing the stigma from talking about periods and the progress that still needs to be made.
“It’s to reflect on how far we’ve come as a society, and being able to talk about menstrual products, they’re a necessity, and yet, I think for a long time, they were viewed as a luxury, and probably still are, to some extent,” said Rychner.
Through this event and initiative, the CAC will be taking monetary donations.
“We have bulk purchasing power through a couple of different channels, and so we can actually stretch the dollar up to five to one,” Rychner said. “Instead of people donating menstrual supplies, it’s actually better to donate to make monetary donations, and then we can purchase up to five times as many things.”
The CAC has put together a committee to help with this initiative and plan the gallery event. Karen Zellar is a board member of the Women Who Care Foundation and Rychner reached out to ask if someone from the foundation would be willing to help. Zellar volunteered, excited for another opportunity to help women. She was surprised to find out that there was no government assistance for period supplies.
“Women have a hard enough time getting ahead in their chosen career without having that discrimination,” she said. “We feel it’s a tremendous cause, and we’re hoping for a good turnout and, obviously, to raise a lot of money for this event.”
Zellar said by providing improved access to menstrual supplies, women can focus on more important things.
“It’s up to us to help out other women,” she said. “That’s what it’s for, to help other women and help them achieve the goals that they might have. It doesn’t matter what their goals are, whether their goal is to be a stay-at-home mom or to begin a career path of some sort.”
MORE INFO
The “Go with the Flow. Period.” initiative launch event will take place during Ladies Night Out at the Upper East Side (217 Central Avenue) on May 8 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. To learn more about the initiative or to donate to the cause, visit communityactioncenter.org/go-with-the-flow.
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