St. Louis Area Diaper Bank Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Nonprofit continues to evolve while serving the St. Louis region’s growing need.

(St. Louis, Mo., March 7, 2024) — The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank will celebrate its 10^th anniversary. Since its inception in 2014, the organization has expanded its services from solely providing diapers to adding a period supply program to address both diaper need and period poverty.

The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank has drastically grown its community reach in the past decade. The nonprofit, which originally supplied 1,200 diapers each month with one community partner, currently dispenses more than 250,000 diapers each month with 75 community partners. The diaper bank currently distributes more than 3.2 million diapers annually, partnering with St. Louis County Library and St. Louis Public Library for its community-wide distribution program.

In 2023, the diaper bank grew its relationship with the St. Louis County Library by introducing a potty-training class alongside its existing diaper and period supply distribution. Overall, both library systems have distributed over 3 million diapers and 325,00 period supplies since the partnerships began in 2019.

The period supply program distributes period supplies through community partners and advocates for the elimination of period poverty.  In 2024, nearly 1 million period supplies will be distributed throughout the St. Louis region, with 20,000 period products allocated weekly.  Two-thirds of low-income women in St. Louis struggle to afford menstrual hygiene products, with 46% of low-income women having to choose between food and period supplies.

The diaper bank is a member of the National Diaper Bank Network and its sister organization Alliance for Period Supplies, a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to eliminating diaper need and period poverty in America. The period supply program ensures access to menstrual hygiene products, which allows full participation in daily life with dignity.

“The growth of the diaper bank has been exponential over the past three years,” said Executive Director Muriel Smith. “The 2020 pandemic exposed a greater need than we ever knew. We now know that we will need to continue to grow to meet that need.”

Pictured from left to right are St. Louis Area Diaper Bank Executive Director Muriel Smith and Program Manager Hannah Kramer.

The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, founded in 2014 and located at 6141 Etzel Ave. in Wellston, Mo., provides diaper and period supply access to the region’s under-resourced families and raises community awareness about the causes and consequences of diaper need and period poverty. For more information, call (314) 624-0888 or visit www.stldiaperbank.org.