APPLETON, Wis. — More than 5,000 period products will be distributed across 15 Appleton Area School District schools to combat period poverty, officials announced Wednesday.

The products are courtesy of The Monthlies Project, which is a new initiative aiming to provide menstrual health products at schools and bring awareness to the period poverty issue.

“We are very fortunate for our community partners’ support with initiatives such as The Monthlies Project,” said Julie Bargholtz, Appleton Area School District Family and Community Engagement Coordinator. “Product accessibility eliminates a barrier to regular student attendance. We appreciate this partnership that benefits our students.”

Period poverty, which is when someone does not have adequate access to menstrual products or education, is an issue that affects many students in the U.S.

About 23% of students have struggled to afford period products, according to a study by Thinx Inc. and PERIOD. According to The Monthlies Project, period products costs about $13.25 per month, meaning a woman can spend an average of $6,000 on products over her reproductive lifespan.

The high cost leaves many relying on school districts or school clinics and nurse’s offices for products, as many benefits — like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — cannot be used to purchase them.

Often, the support in schools isn’t there either.

A significant percentage of students — about 3-in-5 students — said they rarely or never find free products in school bathrooms or public bathrooms. Many said this makes them feel like their school doesn’t care about them.

An even larger amount, 84%, said they have missed class time or know someone who has because they didn’t have access to period products, according to an earlier study by Thinx Inc.

Education about periods is also lacking. About 76% of students in the study said they’re taught more about biology of frogs in school than the human female body.

Many surveyed said they felt unprepared for their period.

Those were just some of the reasons The Monthlies Project was formed.

“The Monthlies Project is an example of the real change that takes place when a community bands together to solve an issue,” said Patti Habeck, president and CEO of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. “It has taken the collective efforts of passionate and caring individuals to launch this project and finally address period poverty in our schools.

Those collective efforts come from organizations such as Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, the Women’s Fund of the Fox Valley, Fox Communities Credit Union, The Boldt Company, Coalesce Marketing and Design and ThedaCare.

The initiative is 100% supported by donations and has a fund through the Women’s Fund of the Fox Valley. They’re hoping to raise $100,00 to supply 625 girls with menstrual products for a full year.

The initiative to deliver menstrual products to female students in Appleton is the first delivery the group will make.