Ky. women work to combat period poverty, free period pantries open in Lexington and beyond

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Gov. Andy Beshear signed a proclamation on May 5. It officially marks May 11-17 as Period Poverty Awareness Week in Kentucky.

According to a fact sheet from Alliance for Period Supplies, one in five women and girls in Kentucky between the ages of 12 and 44 live below the federal poverty level. Nationwide, two out of five people who get periods struggle to afford period products.

Skylar Davis founded Period Y’all in 2022. Since then, the organization has been fighting to end period poverty in the Commonwealth. Davis said the group has installed free menstrual product pantries in seven Kentucky counties.

That includes Letcher, Madison, Garrard, Jessamine, McCracken, Jefferson, and Washington County.

Davis said recent cost increases have left many with a difficult choice.

“Choosing between period products and feeding their kids,” Davis said.

Davis said many have had to skip work or school because of a lack of resources.

But through her organization’s work, she’s able to make a change.

This week alone, they were able to give out more than 19,000 free period products.

“Anything that we can do to raise awareness about this experience and help alleviate this is monumental,” Davis said.

Emily Yonter, creator of the more than 60,000 member Ladies of Lexington Facebook page, has noticed the problem too.

“We get tons of requests, pretty much daily, of women in the area needing period products,” Yonter said.

That’s why she and other members of the group launched “The Pink Box” last week on West Sixth Street downtown, right across from Coolavin Park.

Yonter said it’s simple to use. Anyone can open the door, take what they need and leave what they can.

“It’s time to start being more direct and be more hands on with the community,” Yonter said.

“We’re just really grateful that the community wanted to help us make it happen and that so many women in ladies of lex donated,” Yonter said.

Both groups rely on the community to keep these pantries stocked and they hope to open more pantries in Kentucky.

Ladies of Lexington is accepting monetary and supply donations. They also are now selling merchandise, and that money will go towards buying period products.

Period Y’all has an Amazon Wishlist and monetary donation link for anybody who’d like to donate.