Rosie’s Pantry
WE CAN… work together to make your month better!
Rosie’s Pantry seeks to combat period poverty by providing sanitary products, free of cost, to those who need them. Located in the Girls Inc. at 27 Burke Street in Nashua, community members can pick up products such as sanitary napkins, tampons, menstrual cups, deodorant, and more on weekdays between 8 am and 6 pm. Donations to Rosie’s Pantry also support students experiencing period poverty at some of Nashua’s public schools.
If you’d like to support Rosie’s Pantry, please order from the wish list at https://tinyurl.com/RosiesUW , or drop donations off in person at the United Way office at 20 Broad Street in Nashua between 10 am and 3 pm on weekdays. Additionally: on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, between 10 am and 2 pm, United Way volunteers collect hygiene supply donations to stock Rosie’s Pantry at Hannaford supermarket in Nashua and Hannaford in Hudson, respectively. If you’re interested in volunteering, click this link to sign up! https://tinyurl.com/RosiesDriveUW
What?: Rosie’s pantry is a cabinet fully stocked with period and hygiene supplies! It has sanitary napkins, tampons, period underwear, reusable pads, menstrual cups, razors, deodorant, and more available to the public!
Why?: Roughly twenty-five million people with periods live in poverty, and support programs like SNAP do not cover the cost of period supplies. Due to the high (and increasing) cost of such items, and the lack of financial assistance in accessing them, people living in poverty often struggle to obtain these necessities. This struggle, in which people with periods have insufficient access to hygiene products, is called period poverty. Period poverty, which can often force menstruators (people with periods) to go without the proper supplies, is a reality for many living in the Greater Nashua Area.
A lack of access to period products might prevent menstruators from attending school or work, or restrict their ability to do things like swim or play sports. As a whole, period poverty keeps people not just from feeling comfortable, but from the things they need or want to do. Rosie’s Pantry exists because everybody should be able to live their lives without worrying about how to get through their next period.
Who can use it?: Anyone in need of Rosie’s Pantry supplies is more than welcome to take from the pantry!
Where & When?: Rosie’s Pantry is located in the Girls Inc. at 27 Burke Street in Nashua. Donations and pick-ups can be made on weekdays between 8 am and 6 pm.
Future Goals: Our current goal moving forward is to be able to maintain a constant supply of period products in ‘mini Rosie’s Pantries’ throughout the Greater Nashua Middle and High Schools. Many menstruators living in poverty are young, and may not have access to a car to take them to the local Girls Inc to pick up hygiene supplies. Being able to offer these products at a place that all young people attend, and have rides to consistently would be a major step forward in helping to end period poverty in our community. To help support this goal, please order from our wish list at https://tinyurl.com/RosiesUW, or drop off donations at the United Way office at 20 Broad Street in Nashua on weekdays between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm.
Rosie’s Pantry was created by a group of volunteers who saw a way for the community to come together to support this need. You can find an interview with one of the volunteers, Emily Carrara, HERE. It is sponsored, in part, by St. Mary’s Bank.
