TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Menstrual products are a basic necessity, but with the prices of everyday items continuing to rise, some families are struggling to afford them.
To help bridge the gap, Queer Girls Pantry for Kids 84745 partnered with Crafting Resilience to create reusable menstrual pads.
Leah Dardis and Alex Bell run the pantry, providing food and essentials for families in need.
"So we provide food for families with school-age children. That could be anyone that is in transition, unhoused, living in apartment complexes or any kind of hotel. All different situations, we try to meet people where they are," Dardis said.
Dardis and Bell noticed pads and tampons go consistently, prompting them to take action.
"I'm in the pantry every day, so I hear all about how they can't afford it. They're spending all their money on food, baby food, diapers, and the costs aren't going down and with the benefits and stuff, they don't have enough money," Bell said.
The initiative has become an all-hands-on-deck project, with community members jumping into action to cut, sew and organize the materials. Founder of Crafting Resilience, Regina Dante, started the organization in 2025 to give people sewing lessons around the community, and transitioned her work into mutual aid.
Dante said the groups are assembling kits for those in need.
"It's going to be one large wet bag, one small wet bag. There's going to be three panty liners, six day pads, and three overnight pads," Dante said. "And that's on average enough for three days of a period or so."
The wet bags are used for storage and to prevent leakage for when you switch out the pads.
The pads are made from recycled fabric and designed to feel just like underwear.
"The panty liners have two layers of flannel, the day pads have four layers of flannel, and the overnight pads have three layers of absorb, which is a super absorbent fabric," Dante said.
Dardis noted that people will often choose pads and tampons over other hygiene products in her pantry. She says the reusable pads will be for people who are in a little more stable situation that have access to washing machines.
"You got three teenage girls in your house, you’re gonna wipe out a whole box of tampons and that is, you know, quite a price," Dardis said.
Research shows that since 2019, the average price of a pack of sanitary pads has risen 41%, with tampons increasing by 36%.
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Community member Leigha Campbell came out to help sew the pads and knows firsthand that they will make a huge difference.
"I’ve used these before. They’re really nice and I feel like they’re really nice on your skin too," Campbell said.
The goal is to make 39 liners, 78 day pads and 39 overnight pads and get feedback on how they can be improved.
The community is invited to help continue the process on Sunday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m at Queer Girls Pantry located at 1003 W. Huron Street on the westside.
Dante says if you want to help sew, bring your own sewing machine and make sure you're comfortable using it.
If you don't know how to sew, that's okay. You can help with cutting, assembling, applying snaps and more.
Donations are also accepted. Materials needed are flannel, cotton t-shirts or jersey fabric, snap pliers, plastic snaps, ballpoint sewing machine needles and quilt clips or clothespins.
Queer Girls Pantry for Kids 84745 also takes food or monetary donations.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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