Tampa’s ‘Period Pantry’ provides free menstrual products in Seminole Heights and beyond

Tampeños may soon see small, baby pink boxes that serve a very vital purpose, but they’re not food pantries or free libraries.

Tampa Bay Abortion Fund Case Manager and community member Bree Wallace recently launched the Tampa Period Pantry as a hyperlocal way to battle a widespread issue affecting uteruses across the world—period poverty.

Defined as “a pressing global issue encompassing insufficient access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, and education” by ppoverty.org, period poverty—like every form of poverty—creates various barriers for leading a healthy life.

“Research says people with periods will spend around $18,000 on these products during their lifetime and is an issue for millions of people just in the United States each year,” Wallace tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

Seminole Heights’ Disco Dolls Boutique at 4220 N Florida Ave. is home to the first installment of the Tampa Period Pantry; a pink and red wooden box stocked with a variety of tampons, menstrual cups, pads and cramp relief pads. Alongside its spread of free menstrual products, the pantry also  has a link to its social media and a QR code that leads to more information about the project.

Wallace said she was met with a wave of positive reception to the first period pantry, from folks looking to donate resources to the project, business owners looking to host their own and community members expressing general support for the cause. In addition to hosting an actual pantry, Tampa Bay residents are welcome to support the pantry by stocking it with products, sharing information on social media, buying items on its Amazon wishlist, or donating to its GoFundMe campaign.

Folks interested in donating their time to the project can also fill out the Google form linked on its Instagram to get in contact with Wallace herself.

She launched the project a few months ago after her friend started a period pantry in Jacksonville, understanding that there was an obvious need for free menstrual products for houseless and low-income people across Tampa.

“I work in reproductive rights as my day job and through that, see a lot of people who are struggling to be able to afford menstrual hygiene products,” Wallace added. “I wanted to create a safe place for people to be able to come and grab whatever they need, essentially without even having to see or talk to anyone since I know that can be difficult.”

Just last week, the second location for the Tampa Period Pantry popped up outside of West Tampa’s woman-owned tattoo and piercing shop Plantas and Tinta (1715 N Howard Ave. Suite C).

“I would love for the pantry to be all over the Tampa Bay Area and be known by many people and organizations as a mutual aid available in the area,” Wallace says. “ By the end of 2023 I hope to have 10 locations up, and 20 total by the end of 2024. I want to research the best places for the pantries to be so they are useful to people who really need them.”

She says more pantries across the Bay in St. Pete and Clearwater will soon open their little doors, too.

For the latest information on Tampa Period Pantry and its newest locations, head to its Instagram at @tampaperiodpantry.

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This article appears in Aug 31 – Sep 6, 2023.