Supermarket chain, Countdown, has joined Foodbank Project’s latest programme which provides female sanitary products for students in poorer households across New Zealand.

The Foodbank Project, an online foodbank collaboration between The Salvation Army, Countdown supermarkets and web developer Lucid, has introduced a “Women’s Hygiene” bundle for $15 that will be distributed to The Salvation Army’s foodbanks. This can be set up as a recurring monthly donation.

Countdown supplier Kimberley-Clark has kickstarted the campaign with $2,500 worth of sanitary products as a donation.

“Women’s sanitary products are a necessity item that can become hard to afford when young people are under financial pressure. We hope this collaboration between Louisa Wall, Countdown and The Salvation will allow us to fulfil an important community need,” said James Walker, Countdown’s general manager for corporate affairs.

In a pilot project, The Salvation Army will approach schools in Wellington and Porirua to talk about discretely supplying sanitary products to young women who need them.

“Female sanitary products are not a luxury, but for young Kiwi women on tight budgets they’re an expense that’s hard to afford,” says Manurewa MP and Labour Youth Affairs spokesperson Louisa Wall.

“A lack of sanitary products has been identified as an obstacle to regular school attendance,” Wall said. “Some girls stay home when it’s their period because they cannot afford sanitary products. Others resort to makeshift and unhygienic measures such as recycling used pads or improvising pads from old clothes, rags, newspapers and other materials—putting them at risk of infection and sickness.”

A recent survey by Wateraid reported that three-quarters of UK women feared the embarrassment of blood leaking onto their clothes while out in public during their period. Just over half feared smelling bad. Only six per cent of women reported experiencing no anxiety around their periods.

“There is the risk of embarrassment for anyone during their period—but poverty increases a woman’s vulnerability even more,” says Wall. “We need to establish interventions that will empower our girls and young women so they are not marginalised simply because they are menstruating.”