What We Do
Build Lasting Change
Justice Necessary creates a sustainable infrastructure within communities to help make sure we address not only today’s needs but every day that follows.
Mend the Safety Net
Justice Necessary ensures our neighbors can get the health and hygiene basics that assistance programs like SNAP and WIC don’t cover: diapers, wipes, period products, and more.
Speak Out for Our Neighbors
Through our outreach and education efforts, we reveal to policymakers and individuals the scale and hazards of period poverty and diaper need in our community.
Build Lasting Change
Justice Necessary creates a sustainable infrastructure within communities to help make sure we address not only today’s needs but every day that follows.
Mend the Safety Net
Justice Necessary ensures our neighbors can get the health and hygiene basics that assistance programs like SNAP and WIC don’t cover: diapers, wipes, period products, and more.
How We Do It
Going Where Help is Needed
Justice Necessary partners with food pantries, school & universities , governments, and more to distribute supplies where the need is greatest, and access is crucial.
Putting Your Generosity to Work
Backed by your support, Justice Necessary connects and creates distribution points for quality, eco-friendly products for people who otherwise couldn’t access them.
Creating Reliable Resources
We work with underwriters, suppliers, and volunteers to get basic hygiene products to people who need them, creating a sustainable supply of necessities.
Going Where Help is Needed
Justice Necessary partners with food pantries, school & universities , governments, and more to distribute supplies where the need is greatest, and access is crucial.
Putting Your Generosity to Work
Backed by your support, Justice Necessary connects and creates distribution points for quality, eco-friendly products for people who otherwise couldn’t access them.
Our Impact
It’s more than just a diaper, a wipe, or a pad.
Each of these represents a more secure parent, a healthier baby, a teenager who can go to school while they’re on their period.
Deodorant, toothbrushes, soap, and so many more basics like these are taken for granted every day. We serve the people for whom these small staples can be life-changing.
A Letter from Our Founder
Justice Necessary was founded to fight a hidden crisis in our communities.
It's the inability to afford or even access everyday hygiene products like diapers, wipes, period products, oral care essentials, soap, shampoo, deodorant, and more. This crisis is hygiene poverty.
Federal programs like SNAP and WIC don't cover hygiene products, leaving millions without recourse.
Hygiene poverty leads to worsening chronic illnesses, barriers to employment, degraded self-worth, inconsistent school attendance, and health problems. This all perpetuates cycles of poverty, further trapping our neighbors.
We can empower the systemic change necessary to tackle this hidden crisis. We have the tools, creativity, and willpower to make meaningful improvements in our neighbors' lives. Every day that goes by means another baby without diapers, another student without tampons, another family without help. This doesn't have to be as long as they can count on us. On you. Together, we create partnerships to change lives.
Our Partners
News on the Issues
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people in the US are affected by period poverty?
According to the best available statistics, about 11.3 million people in the US could not afford menstrual products in the past year. About half of that number were forced to choose between menstrual products and food. This includes 14.2% of menstruating college students (10% of whom report experiencing period poverty on a monthly basis).
These statistics come with a caveat. There is a massive need for more comprehensive research on period poverty both in the US and around the world. Lack of interest from researchers and social stigma has historically limited available information about period poverty.
What are the causes of period poverty?
Unsurprisingly, poverty and period poverty are closely linked, meaning that our most vulnerable neighbors are more at risk. Food deserts—areas which lack grocery stores—also tend to be tampon and pad deserts. Supply chain disruptions and national shortages mean that access in all areas is fragile.
Social stigmas often prevent people from asking for or admitting they need help. This phenomenon can be especially pernicious for young people and people who live in unsafe homes.
The root causes of this poverty, inequality, and intimidation are larger issues that we can all address together.In the meantime, we want to make sure our neighbors have life-altering access to the hygiene supplies they need.
How many US families experience diaper need?
It is estimated that 1-in-3 US families will experience diaper need—the lack of sufficient diaper supply to keep a baby clean, dry, and healthy.
For poor families living in impoverished areas, accessing more affordable diapers is difficult or impossible, since they are forced to buy at a higher cost from corner stores when diapers are even available.
Do assistance programs like SNAP and WIC cover diapers or period products?
No. These products are explicitly excluded right now from SNAP and WIC benefits. Even if they were covered, there would be a number of families who don’t qualify yet have trouble consistently affording diapers. Only 23% of families living below the federal poverty line receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, leaving millions struggling.
Without their own reliable supply of diapers, children are not accepted into daycare programs, which also limits the ability of parents to work and bring in more income.
Head Start and Early Head Start programs do provide diapers for children but only while the children are in program settings—they can’t be sent home with them. Further, federal budget cuts mean that only 7% of eligible infants and toddlers are able to access Head Start programs.
What sort of families experience diaper need?
A 2017 study found that diaper need most frequently impacts children of color and families already experiencing poverty. Contrary to popular stereotypes, 65% of families had married parents and nearly half had at least a bachelor’s degree. 66% of parents in these families were employed.
Despite the best efforts of these families, skyrocketing costs, lack of access, and social stigma around receiving assistance mean that they can’t secure the hygiene essentials they need.