“We’re excited about it being our fifth year. I never thought when I started it, having the craft show five years ago, that it would be a success and we’d continue,” said Lisa Jordan, founder of Providing for Women, which puts on the event.
Those in attendance include homemade crafters and wholesale vendors, as well as Greene County Public Health, Greene County Public Library, and other local nonprofit organizations.
The show has a $3 admission fee, which goes towards Providing for Women. The Xenia nonprofit aims to eradicate ‘period poverty,’ which prevents women and girls from living full lives due to lack of menstrual hygiene resources.
Providing for Women distributes period and incontinence products to organizations that serve low-income and homeless women, including Xenia and Fairborn Fish Pantries, and also supplies period products to teenagers at Xenia Community Schools. The organization also provides hygiene products to the Airman’s Attic at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
According to the national Alliance for Period Supplies, 2 in 5 women struggle to purchase period products due to a lack of income, and many of them then miss out on work or school.
The “pink tax,” a term for sales tax on essential feminine hygiene products, was eliminated in Ohio in 2020. However, those products, along with soap, deodorant, and some other hygiene items, still cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits, or food stamps.
“SNAP benefits do not cover things like soap, shampoo, feminine hygiene, or even for men, razors or whatever they need,” Jordan said. “It was great they did away with the tax, but it doesn’t help those struggling financially.”
The event raises funds and also awareness for those who may be struggling with this issue.
“Come out and shop and learn more about what we do and why we do it,” Jordan said.
About the Author
