Every Monday and Wednesday, Giovanna Pecin loads a large cardboard box full of pads and tampons onto a golf cart. 

Pecin, USF Student Government’s health and wellness manager, then takes the products to the “busiest” women’s bathrooms on the USF Tampa campus, such as those in the Marshall Student Center and the Library.

Menstrual product dispensers, supplied by the company Femly, were installed last year as part of SG’s “period project,” an initiative to place free organic tampons and pads in some women’s bathrooms across the Tampa campus. 

A year later, some USF students said the products are easier to find now that they are being restocked more often.

Although the number of bathrooms with free menstrual products has not increased since last year, the initiative’s budget and number of restocks per week have, Pecin said. 

Related: Free organic menstrual product dispensers installed on USF Tampa campus 

Pecin said there are 10 dispensers throughout five on-campus buildings—the Marshall Student Center, the Library, the Fine Arts Building, the Interdisciplinary Sciences building and Cooper Hall.

The annual budget for the initiative has increased from $14,500 to $15,000 in the past academic year, said Nicole Alfaro, SG’s student programs coordinator.

With the increased budget, Alfaro said SG has been able to maintain a steady supply of products throughout the semester.

Pecin said she places an order at the beginning of each semester through Femly’s website, including pantiliners, pads and tampons, taking about a month to arrive. 

Femly is a period product supplier that provides organizations and schools with menstrual product dispensers for $425 each.

Related: USF SG Senate resolutions back adding signatures to student IDs for voting, excused menstrual leave for class 

Pecin created a spreadsheet to keep track of supplies for individual dispensers, which she updates every time she restocks one.

She also added QR codes to each dispenser in January, linking them to a form where students can report if a bathroom’s dispenser is out of menstrual products.

The QR codes have been “popular” among students, receiving anywhere from 10 to 20 responses per week, Pecin said.

Sarah Strummer, a junior marketing major, used one of the QR codes in a Cooper Hall bathroom and was surprised to see the dispenser was restocked just two days later.

“Last year, these dispensers seemed like a great idea, but they would often be empty,” Strummer said. “This semester, I have actually been able to use the tampons from the dispenser in Cooper Hall.” 

Brooke Russo, a senior public relations and advertising major, has also noticed fewer empty dispensers across campus. 

“Every time I tried to get a pad, the dispenser would be empty,” Russo said. “The past few months, I’ve been able to get products pretty easily from the Library, Cooper Hall and the MSC.”

Related: OPINION: USF should implement a menstrual leave policy. Period. 

Although getting period products has become less of a hassle, Russo said she wishes more buildings on campus had the dispensers.

Pecin said SG plans to expand the initiative to other buildings in the future, but will need to expand the team supporting the project. 

Pecin and her adviser, Alfaro, are currently the only people overseeing the initiative.

“It’s a lot to carry a huge box of thousands of pads and tampons by yourself,” Pecin said. “Since I graduate soon, I don’t think it will be possible for other buildings to get dispensers by the end of the school year.”

But Pecin said she hopes the health and wellness manager taking her place next semester will start a team to help add more dispensers.

For now, Pecin said she will continue to restock each dispenser twice a week in an effort to supply students with the products more often.

Strummer said it’s necessary for students to have access to free menstrual care products on campus, particularly for low-income students. 

“It’s ridiculous to expect students who are already struggling to pay for their tuition to pay for menstrual products in public bathrooms, so I’m just really grateful this is the route USF has taken,” Strummer said.