Period Supplies Near You 2026: Where to Get Pads & Tampons

If you are running out of pads or tampons and money is tight, you are not alone, and you did not miss a benefit. The two biggest food programs, SNAP and WIC, are not allowed to pay for period supplies. That is why a network of local nonprofits collects them and gives them to people who need them.

Note: the Alliance for Period Supplies is a nonprofit program, not a government program. It is “an initiative of the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization,” launched in May 2018 (Our Work). APS says it distributes supplies and funding “to community partners,” so the people you actually contact are its local allied members. Those members “are independently operated nonprofit organizations” (Allied Programs). Locations, supplies and rules vary by program.

This guide is a checklist. It covers why SNAP and WIC say no, where to look first, what we found when we counted the national list, and a few lesser-known ways to cover the cost. Everything was read from the source on September 15, 2026.

Esta guía también está disponible en español.

Why SNAP and WIC Cannot Buy Period Supplies

This is a federal rule, not a store’s choice. SNAP benefits can buy “eligible foods,” and 7 CFR 271.2 defines those as “any food or food product intended for human consumption,” plus a short list of extras such as seeds and some prepared meals. Pads, tampons, liners and cups are not food, so no state can let SNAP pay for them. Our guide to what you can buy with SNAP walks through the full list.

WIC is narrower still. WIC benefits buy “supplemental foods,” which 7 CFR 246.2 defines as foods with nutrients “lacking in the diets of pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants, and children … as prescribed by the Secretary in § 246.10.” It is a list of foods, and nothing else can be added to it. WIC is still worth having for food, but it will not cover period products.

TANF is different. If your family gets TANF cash assistance, the federal definition in 45 CFR 260.31 says assistance is meant for “ongoing basic needs (i.e., for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, household goods, personal care items, and general incidental expenses).” TANF rules and amounts are set by each state.

This is the same gap that diapers fall into. See our diaper bank guide — the network behind period supply programs is the same one.

Checklist: Where to Look, in Order

Step	What to do	What the source says
1. Call 2-1-1 or search 211.org	Ask for “period supplies” or “basic needs.” Also check listings under women, girls, families, or transgender individuals.	APS Get Help
2. Try more search words	If nothing comes up, search again for “feminine hygiene products,” “hygiene items/supplies,” “personal hygiene items/supplies,” “sanitary napkins,” or “tampons.”	APS Allied Programs
3. Check the allied member list	Find your state on the written list. Then also look at the map on the same page — they do not match (see below).	APS Allied Programs
4. Ask your food pantry or a faith-based group	APS names both as the next step. Many listed programs are food banks.	APS Get Help; find a pantry with our Feeding America guide
5. If you are a student, ask at school	Some states require free products in school restrooms.	See “At School” below

Step 2 matters more than it looks. The two APS pages suggest different words for the same search, and local listings are not always filed under “period supplies.” Try all of them. Our 211 guide explains how the call works — the same call can also cover food, rent and utility help.

We Counted the National List

“Find your nearest member” sounds like full coverage. So on September 15, 2026, we went through the allied member list entry by entry. This is our count, not a number APS publishes.

• 142 local program listings under 51 headings (the 50 states and Washington, D.C.). One organization, Good+ Foundation, is listed twice (Los Angeles and New York City), so that is 141 different organizations. There is no Puerto Rico heading.
• The Kwek Society appears under 25 states, listed for “Native American educators and organizations.” We did not count it as a local program.
• Two states say they have nothing: “There are currently no allied programs in Delaware,” and the same for West Virginia.
• Five more show only The Kwek Society: Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming.
• Fifteen list exactly one local program: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah and Virginia.
• The longest lists: New York (9), Florida (8), Ohio (7) and Tennessee (7).

The map and the list do not match

The same page embeds a Google map. We downloaded its data. It has two layers: “Allied Programs” with 145 pins, and a second layer called “NDBN members w period supply programs” with 50 pins — diaper banks and other members that also run period supply programs.

That second layer changes the picture in some states:

• West Virginia: the list says no allied programs, but the map has an allied pin for Faith Feeding Freedom Foundation in Falling Waters.
• Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming: the list shows only The Kwek Society, but the second map layer has one pin each — FISH of Lebanon (Oregon), Harvest Table in Brookings (South Dakota), and Volunteers of America Mommy’s Closet in Sheridan (Wyoming).
• Many names on the second layer are not on the written list at all, such as WestSide Baby in Seattle, The Food Depot in Santa Fe and Fort Bend Diaper Bank in Richmond, Texas.

What to do with this: read your state on the list, then zoom the map to your area and click the pins. A pin means the organization is on APS’s map — call and ask whether it gives period supplies to individuals right now.

Food banks show up often. The written list includes San Diego Food Bank, Treasure Coast Food Bank (Florida), Second Harvest Food Bank (Indiana), Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Mid-South Food Bank (Tennessee) and Bellingham Food Bank (Washington). If your food bank is not listed, ask anyway.

What to Ask When You Call

There is no national application, income limit or amount. Each program decides. Questions worth asking:

• Do you give period supplies to individuals, or only through partners like schools or shelters? (APS says members give “directly to individuals in need or through local community partners.”)
• What do I need to bring, if anything?
• What do you have right now — pads, tampons, liners?
• How often can I come back?
• Is there a time or place I can pick up without an appointment?

At School: Free Products in Some States

Some states now require public schools to stock period products. Two examples, read straight from state law:

• California: public schools with any of grades 3 to 12 “shall stock the school’s restrooms at all times with an adequate supply of menstrual products, available and accessible, free of cost, in all women’s restrooms and all-gender restrooms, and in at least one men’s restroom.” Each of those restrooms must post a notice with the email and phone number of the person in charge of keeping them stocked (Cal. Educ. Code 35292.6). If the restroom is empty, that notice tells you who to contact.
• Minnesota: schools “must provide students with access to menstrual products at no charge” in restrooms used by grades 4 to 12 (Minn. Stat. 121A.212).

APS counts 26 states and Washington, D.C. with school laws as of August 15, 2026, and says “the details of period products in schools legislation vary widely between states” (Period Products in Schools). We only checked California and Minnesota ourselves. If you have school-age kids, see also our school meals guide.

If You Have an HSA or FSA

This will not help everyone, but it is little known. Since 2020, federal tax law treats “menstrual care products” as medical care for health savings accounts (26 U.S.C. 223) and for employer health plans such as FSAs and HRAs (26 U.S.C. 106(f)). The law spells out “a tampon, pad, liner, cup, sponge, or similar product.” IRS Publication 969 (2025) confirms they are “a covered expense” for FSAs and HRAs.

If your job offers an FSA card, you may be able to use it for these products. Check with your plan.

Programs to Line Up at the Same Time

• Diaper banks — many period supply programs are run by diaper banks, so one call can cover both.
• SNAP — it can’t buy pads, but it frees up grocery money.
• WIC — for pregnant people, new parents and children under 5.
• Help for single mothers — a round-up of programs for one-parent households.

How We Checked This

What we opened and read ourselves, on September 15, 2026. The Alliance for Period Supplies Get Help, Allied Programs, Our Work and Period Products in Schools pages. The raw data behind the allied member map, which we downloaded and counted pin by pin. The 2021 survey data set APS posts. The federal rules 7 CFR 271.2 and 7 CFR 246.2 (title 7 issue of September 9, 2026) and 45 CFR 260.31 (title 45 issue of August 31, 2026), pulled through the eCFR’s own API. 26 U.S.C. 223 and 106 from the 2024 U.S. Code, and IRS Publication 969. California Education Code 35292.6 and Minnesota Statutes 121A.212.

Something you only see in the source itself. The allied member map is not one list — it has a second layer of 50 “NDBN members w period supply programs” that never appears in the written list. In four states (West Virginia, Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming), the written list shows no local program, but the map shows one. If you only read the list, you would think there is nothing near you.

Where the common belief and the source do not match.

• “38% of low-wage working women miss work because they can’t get period products.” The APS page says “Over one-third (38%) of low-wage working women report missing work, school or similar events.” The survey data set it links to says something broader: “One-third (38%) of people who menstruate have had to miss events or activities in the last year.” It does not limit that figure to low-wage working women. We use the data set’s wording. The survey is from 2021, was run by YouGov for U by Kotex (the founding sponsor of APS), and asked 1,036 adults. It also found that only 4% knew of a local resource with period products at reduced or no cost — in both 2018 and 2021.
• “California schools only have to stock pads for grades 6 to 12.” That is how the APS schools page still describes California’s 2021 law. The current code section, operative July 1, 2024, covers schools with any of grades 3 to 12.
• “FSA and HSA money can only go to prescriptions and doctor visits.” Not since 2020. Menstrual care products are written into the tax code for HSAs, FSAs and HRAs.
• “SNAP can’t buy them because my state blocks it.” It is the federal definition of “eligible foods” that leaves them out, so the answer is the same in every state.

What we could not check.

• We did not call any program. We cannot tell you whether a program has supplies today, what it asks for, or how much it gives.
• We did not open 211.org or The Kwek Society’s site for this guide.
• State sales tax on period products (“tampon tax”): we did not verify any state’s rules from a state tax agency, so we give no state list or rates.
• School laws in other states: we read only California’s and Minnesota’s. The count of 26 states plus D.C. is APS’s, not ours.
• fns.usda.gov blocks our requests (HTTP 403), so the SNAP and WIC points come from the regulations on eCFR instead.

The allied member list and map change as programs join and leave, so treat the exact counts as a September 15, 2026 snapshot. The durable point is to check both the list and the map, then call 2-1-1.

The Alliance for Period Supplies is a nonprofit program of the National Diaper Bank Network, not a government agency. Locations, supplies and rules vary by local program. Federal rules above apply nationwide; school rules shown are for California and Minnesota only.

Last updated: September 15, 2026

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.