I mentioned during my Eating Well On $1 A Day Challenge that men don't buy tampons and my succumbing to buying tampons for a jar of free peanut butter. One of the comments on that post was from Julinda who said:

My sister is poor and frequently visits a food pantry. She, like many other women, would appreciate your womanly products donation. She has gone without the items she needs, which is sad in this day and age. I try to help her when I can. Thank you on behalf of the woman that will use it.

Safeway had Carefree pantiliners on sale for $0.99 this week and I had 39 coupons from inserts I had collected for $1.00 off 1. Even though I knew this and had read the words from Julinda's comment, I had no plan on buying them. Getting one package of tampons for a jar of peanut butter was completely different than walking up to the cash register with 39 packages of pantiliners. I was embarrassed enough with one in my basket and so buying a bunch wasn't even a consideration.

This afternoon I was talking with a group of friends and telling them my tampon for peanut butter story. One friend asked if getting tampons and pantiliners for free was common. I said I didn't know since I really didn't pay attention to when they went on sale, but mentioned the Safeway deal and how I could buy a bunch, but that would really be embarrassing. She looked back at me and said in a stone serious face, “How embarrassed do you think those women are that are unable to pay for sanitary items when their period comes each month?”

I was ashamed. Yes, it would be slightly embarrassing for me to put 39 pantininer packages into a shopping cart and buy them, but it's a pretty pitiful embarrassment compared to how women in that situation must feel. And so this evening I went pantiliner shopping buying 39 packages worth $82.00 for $0.18 :

I don't think I will ever be ashamed of buying tampons or pantiliners again…