Gainesville looks to launch free menstrual product program in coming weeks

The city of Gainesville is preparing to launch a new initiative to provide a necessary monthly product that thousands struggle to obtain.

In October 2022, the Gainesville City Commission unanimously voted to place free menstrual products in all municipal public restrooms as a way to combat rising costs, affordability and access issues. Commissioner Reina Saco spearheaded the plan that is expected to begin next month.

“This is a very common constant in the life of half of our population,” Saco said. “Hopefully just by making life a little bit easier and more accessible, we can improve that quality of life for everyone.”

According to research conducted by Annamarie Elliott, a policy research fellow, 64% percent of participants in a 2019 study don't have the ability to purchase period supplies during the previous year. About 37% of students contacted by Women’s Reproductive Health reported missing school because of this issue.

“I’ve always been kind of shocked by how expensive period products are,” said Mina Edwards, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Florida. “I really don’t feel like it’s fair since it’s not a choice that people with periods have to buy supplies to get by.”

More:Free menstrual products may become available in all municipal bathrooms

More:Gainesville embarks on $2 million Boulware Springs restoration project

City officials say the initiative will place supplies of feminine products in 62 restrooms − for men and women. The supply cost is expected to be around $2,000 to $3,000 annually.

Though some have questioned why the products would be placed in men restrooms, Gainesville’s accessibility issue is not a gendered one, explained Riley Moon, a former intern for Saco who helped work on the proposal. Rather, it is one of aiding all people struggling to afford monthly necessities for themselves or loved ones.

“Having a menstrual cycle is really expensive and the way that it’s framed in our society, it just puts disproportionate pressure on people that experience menstrual cycles,” they said. "... In allowing access to these products, it helps people with hygiene issues, it helps people with convenience issues, but it also helps people feel respected in their community."

Days For Girls

Those advocating for better access to the products say it's a short-term solution to an ongoing problem that needs more answers.

The Alachua County chapter of Days For Girls, a group known for its efforts to provide affordable feminine hygiene products to women globally, has begun working to ensure those locally don't face the same hurdles.

Radha Selvester, who serves as co-chair of the Days For Girls Alachua County branch, which supplied roughly 1,300 people with free products last year, said a lasting solution would be to provide reusable supplies at a much larger scale.

Edwards was one of the people who took advantage of the local resource.

“I’ve had to pay for things that were just a little more important or just essential to survive at the time like gas to get to work or groceries to just try to feed myself and scrape by,” she said. “Feminine products have definitely sometimes gone by the wayside.”

The accessibility issue is paramount in connection with poverty, said Alyssa Davis, a UF student and former intern for Days For Girls.

Of the 52% of people living in Gainesville that were assigned female at birth, those between ages 18 and 24 make up the largest demographic living in poverty, according to the 2020 U.S. census data.

“No one talks about it,” Davis said. “I don’t think there are many people who are willing to come out and say, ‘I’m struggling to get food and much less period products.’”

The issue also extends to those being abused, activists said.

“A big thing within period poverty is women in abusive homes,” said Charli Fernandez, a volunteer with the nonprofit. “They can’t access menstrual products and they have to rely on their abuser to provide those for them.

“I don’t think it solves all problems because there are still women who won’t be able to access that and will end up in the same cycle even with free menstrual products given in public bathrooms, but I think it is definitely a great direction to be headed in."

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville leaders ready to launch free menstrual product program