UF club to collect pads, tampons at Field and Fork Pantry

Two UF students want to tackle the stigma surrounding women’s health and periods.

Emily Rodriguez, 20, started Gators for Camions of Care, a UF chapter of the national organization, after realizing there weren’t any UF clubs devoted to women’s health. Members aim to educate middle- and high-school students about periods. The organization will also begin collecting pads and tampons for those in need through UF’s

Field and Fork Pantry.

“Locally, there’s a lot of homeless women who don’t have access to these products,” said the UF applied physiology and kinesiology junior. “Our mission is to be able to educate the community and collect products to change that.”

Although women make up more than half of the U.S. population, they can be overlooked when it comes to basic needs, she said.

“I think it’s time for us women to just embrace it and talk about it,” Rodriguez said.

The club will collect donations monthly, at the Field and Fork Pantry because pads and tampons aren’t available there, Rodriguez said. The drive might also begin Feb. 3, depending on how many donations members collect beforehand.

Rodriguez said laws regarding periods, like the “tampon tax,” the refusal of states to give tax exemptions for feminine-hygiene products, frustrate her.

Melanie Vargas, 19, the organization’s vice president, said while attending an all-girls school for seven years, she became comfortable talking about periods.

“Women need to advocate for other women and support each other,” the UF biology sophomore said.