Volunteers will assemble hygiene kits for K–12 school, college and university food pantries across four Colorado cities, addressing a critical gap left by federal nutrition programs not designed to cover hygiene products

DENVER, June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Justice Necessary is pleased to announce HygienePalooza, a statewide series of community volunteer events that will bring hygiene essentials to K–12 school, college and university food pantries this fall. The initiative addresses a critical but often overlooked gap. While federal nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC are vital lifelines that help Colorado families afford food, they cannot be used to purchase the everyday hygiene products essential to students' health, dignity and ability to fully participate in school and work.

"Programs like SNAP and WIC are essential in helping families access food, and that support is critically important. But students need more than meals to fully participate and succeed in school. Every day, families are forced to make difficult choices between hygiene essentials and other basic necessities and are going without shampoo, laundry detergent, menstrual products, soap, deodorant, or even stretching toothpaste to make ends meet. The impact on students is immediate. Children miss school, struggle with confidence, and face barriers to fully participating in the classroom. Access to food is foundational, but students also need access to basic hygiene to attend school consistently, stay healthy, and have the opportunity to thrive," said Diane Cushman Neal, Founder and President of Justice Necessary. "HygienePalooza is about ensuring school pantries can provide students with not just food, but the essential hygiene products they need every day."

According to Justice Necessary's 2024 Colorado Study on Hygiene Poverty, 65% of Coloradans surveyed had at some point sacrificed buying hygiene products in order to afford food, while 52% have done the reverse, forgoing food to cover the cost of hygiene essentials. The impact reaches directly into Colorado classrooms. Justice Necessary's 2024 Study on Teen Period Poverty found that 80% of Colorado teens had missed class because they lacked access to period products, a preventable barrier to education.

Research from the hygiene study further shows that among people who have received both food and hygiene products from assistance agencies, nearly half say they regularly seek access to both, yet fewer than one in 10 can reliably find them in the same place. HygienePalooza is designed to change that by stocking school pantries with hygiene kits so students can access what they need alongside the food assistance already available to them.

At each stop on the tour, volunteers will come together to assemble hygiene kits for distribution to local and statewide school pantry partners. Events are open to individuals, community groups and organizations. Those who cannot attend can still make an impact by sponsoring the tour, hosting a hygiene drive, making a donation or helping spread the word.

Event dates and locations:

• Tuesday, September 15th — Grand Junction
• Wednesday, September 23rd — Ft. Collins
• Friday, October 9th — Pueblo
• Thursday, November 5th and Friday, November 6th — Denver

To volunteer, donate or learn more about HygienePalooza, visit justicenecessary.org/hygienepalooza.

About Justice Necessary
Founded in 2021 by Diane Cushman Neal, Justice Necessary is a Colorado nonprofit working to combat hygiene and period poverty across communities statewide. Through direct distribution, education, community engagement, product continuity initiatives, legislative advocacy and the commissioning of four statewide studies on period poverty, diaper need and hygiene poverty, Justice Necessary works to both address immediate needs and advance long-term solutions to hygiene insecurity.

Since its founding, Justice Necessary has distributed more than 8 million organic period products, over 596,681 eco-friendly diapers and wipes, and more than 782,968 additional personal and household hygiene essentials throughout Colorado. Learn more at justicenecessary.org.

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SOURCE Justice Necessary