SAN ANTONIO – Jorge Medina, the CEO of the Texas Diaper Bank, said the need for affordable and accessible period products across San Antonio is high.
“We definitely have seen tremendous growth,” Medina said. “What concerns us is when we don’t have the product and the need is there, and we still have to buy the product to be able to meet the need.”
The Texas Diaper Bank said it gave out just under half a million products last year, and Medina said in 2024, the number of people in need is only growing. That’s why the local group, Periodpalooza, held its donation event Saturday to collect period products.
“The reality is some people really truly can’t afford it,” Olivia Orona, the event director for Periodpalooza, said.
On Saturday, the group collected thousands of period products. Orona said the goal is to bring more accessibility across San Antonio.
“I think the biggest thing is cost,” Orona said. “A lot of people, unfortunately, have to choose between groceries or period products. I hear that a lot.”
This is just one effort from Periodpalooza. The group has a permanent period pantry on the West Side and set up more than a dozen businesses with product collection boxes.
Data shows that 16.9 million people who menstruate in the United States are living in poverty. The donations collected on Saturday will support four organizations across San Antonio. Periodpalooza sent KSAT the following descriptions for each group:
- Harris Middle School: “The public school located on the west side of San Antonio. The school’s minority student enrollment is 77%. The student-teacher ratio is 15, which is worse than that of the district. The school enrolls 50% economically disadvantaged students.”
- Strong Foundation: “It is a non-profit Christian ministry focused on assisting homeless families with children who need a fresh start in life. They offer a program which provides families a safe place to live while they are doing their part to get back on their feet, and working toward having a changed life.”
- Seton Home: “They work to break the cycle of abuse and poverty by providing a caring home, education, and support services necessary to transform the lives of pregnant and parenting teen mothers and their children.”
- Visitation House Ministries (VHM): “It has served the San Antonio Community for 37 years, helping economically vulnerable women with young children break generational cycles of poverty and homelessness through education and employment.”
Periodpalooza said they’re working to run more donation drives soon. The group is also looking to build more permanent period product pantries in the coming months.