DES MOINES, Iowa — Maanya Pandey was just a sophomore at Waukee High School when she decided she wanted make a difference in Iowa.
That's why she started her own nonprofit, Love For Red, to alleviate disparities in accessing menstrual products.
“Period poverty is basically the inaccessibility to period products, but it doesn’t just stop there," Pandey said. "It’s also the inaccessibility to education regarding periods and facilities to feel safe and clean to deal with your period."
For Pandey, Love For Red's cause is a personal one.
“It actually started with my mom. She grew up in India and she didn’t have access to menstrual products," Pandey said. "She was not underserved, she lived in a well-off neighborhood, her family was pretty privileged, but they just didn’t have the access to menstrual products like we have today."
Love For Red consists primarily of student volunteers. The organization is guided by three goals: service, education and advocacy.
“I saw that there were organizations around the U.S. that dealt with this issue, but a lot of them were in bigger cities," Pandey said. "The ones that were in Iowa did not have like a multi-faceted approach. Like they do a lot of service with the donating, but I wanted to focus on the long term change."
While Love For Red is one of the few organizations in Iowa working to address period poverty, the issue is well-documented: Results from the "State of the Period" study indicate 1 in 5 teens have struggled to afford period products,
In addition, inflation and supply chain issues in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the costs of period products by up to 9.8%, according to NielsenIQ.
To combat rising need for menstrual materials, Love For Red has donated more than 38,000 products to 25 different organizations in Iowa, and they are continuing to expand.
The organization has donated to various women's shelters, youth shelters, low-income resource centers, medical centers, refugee-resource centers, schools and even individual families in Iowa.
However, schools have been a main focus with donations.
“My goal with doing it in the schools is, I want students to have academic success and a period should not be the thing that is stopping them," Pandey said.
An average cost for Love For Red to donate to one Des Moines Public School is around $3,000.
If you would like to donate, you can visit their website for more information.