Free period products headed to northern and remote communities

While one in five people say they may not be able to afford period products, according to a survey from Women and Gender Equality Canada, that number is even higher among Indigenous people living in remote and northern communities. 

A survey from a national Indigenous-led period equity group found that  74 per cent of Indigenous reponsdents said they have trouble accessing period products.

"We should be making menstrual products as readily available as toilet paper," said Nicole White, founder of Moon Time Connections. 

"It is absolutely a right that everyone should have access to."

White, who is Métis from Treaty 6 territory, said that's why she's so excited about new funding to help provide northern and remote communities with the menstrual products they want. 

As part of the federal menstrual equity fund pilot project, Food Banks Canada will receive nearly $18 million to distribute free menstrual products to low-income people and provide awareness about period poverty. Moon Time Connections will receive $2.4 million of that funding to specifically reach remote and northern Indigenous communities.

This partnership will help reach Indigenous communities in the North, where there are unique barriers to access.

In Wood Buffalo, Alta., about 420 kilometres north of Edmonton, demand for menstrual products at the local food bank varies and some clients aren't aware they're available, said Michelle Hand, communications and development manager at the Wood Buffalo Food Bank. 

The food bank serves communities as far north as Fort Chipewyan, 600 kilometres north of Edmonton. 

Hand said they have seen a significant increase in demand over the last year, rising from about 600 families a month to nearly 1,000. 

"People are having a hard time supporting just their basic needs. Menstrual items are within that," she said. 

While clients are able to request whatever items they need, Hand said people are often nervous and overwhelmed, especially on their first visits.

"It can be a very scary situation that they're coming into," Hand said. 

"You're just coming in with so much doubt and depression and all of those things that all that information being thrown at you, it can be a lot."