With International Women’s Day coming up on March 8, two B.C. food providers have teamed up to support period poverty in donations and raise awareness.
Spud.ca, a food delivery service based in Vancouver and Blush Lane, an organic orchard in Keremeos, have recently created partnerships spanning across Western Canada. The partnerships come with a singular mission: to help support women and people that menstruate who face barriers to accessing menstrual hygiene products. To achieve this, Spud and Blush lane have teamed up with Calgary’s The Period Project, Edmonton’s No Woman Without and BC Housing’s This is Me…Period for Vancouver and Victoria.
Spud and Blush Lane pledge to donate 25 per cent off all of Organyc menstruation products sold for the month of March. For every product sold via Spud and Blush Lane, DivaCup will donate equal products to all partners. Customers are also eligible to donate any unopened and new menstrual products by placing them into their Spud bin or bringing them to any Blush Lane location before the end of March.
"Sustainability is not just about the environment,” states Andrea Scott, marketing director of Spud, “it is about having equal access to basic needs. With COVID-19 adding a bigger layer of economic hardship, we wanted to make hygiene products available to everyone in Western Canada.”
The organization local to Vancouver, BC Housing’s This is Me…Period, is a project that assembles and distributes tote bags filled with menstrual products to those in need. The initiative began in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in the spring of 2018. It is a collaboration with BC Housing and non-profit partners providing services to individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
