When countless people had no choice but to rely on charity for toilet paper, we called it a public health crisis. So why is it normal for people to rely on food banks and nonprofits for pads and tampons?
Los Angeles must move away from short-term solutions and begin making strides toward sustainable policies that address period poverty, the lack of access to menstrual products like pads and tampons. Specifically, L.A. should work toward passing a binding countywide ordinance that guarantees free pads and tampons in all public restrooms.
In Los Angeles, period poverty is an overlooked but ongoing issue. According to The Pad Project’s LA2050 proposal from 2024, more than 500,000 people in the L.A. county struggle to afford tampons and pads.
The recent stall in policy can be explained by the loss of momentum from earlier movements. This includes the City Library Pilot in 2022, where six local libraries distributed pads and tampons to test the feasibility of a permanent plan. In 2023, the pilot was recognized with a National Association of Counties Achievement Award, yet there have been no plans for expansion.
Another example of past effort that only creates temporary stability is the California Budget Act of 2021. Passing a three-year pilot program that allocated $2 million in one-time state funding, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank was able to distribute 3.3 million pads in 2022. And although this success led to a following proposal in 2023 which hoped to allocate $60 million to supply menstrual products for food banks across California; it never passed. Like the City Library Pilot, it became another promising solution that showed the government’s willingness to only experiment with public access.
Both pilots demonstrate how important permanent policy is to guaranteeing menstrual product access without the fear of expiring grants or ending pilots. Specifically, making pads available in all public restrooms would be the most effective solution for two reasons.
First, it would ensure access to anyone at any time. Stocked restrooms would make obtaining necessary health products easy and immediate. Furthermore, it would avoid tricky barriers such as paperwork, wait times, or navigating nonprofit services in order to attain access.
Second, having menstrual products in public restrooms would help destigmatize period poverty. Requiring people to go to food banks or nonprofits for pads and tampons frames menstrual care as a charity rather than what it is: healthcare. Menstrual products should be held to the same standard as toilet paper and soap, both of which are required in every public restroom.
Some may argue that supplying all public restrooms with menstrual products is unrealistic, both logistically and economically. To this, I offer two responses: Santa Clara and San Diego County.
Santa Clara County passed a legally binding ordinance requiring all public and employee restrooms to be stocked with menstrual products. The program was funded at just $1.8 million, which accounted for less than 0.01 percent of the county’s total budget.
Another example is San Diego County, who has opted to utilize well-designed pilot programs to stock their own public restrooms with menstrual supplies. San Diego launched the Free4Me Program in 2021 with $70,000, which installed over 1,000 dispensers throughout 300 public restrooms. San Diego demonstrates that low cost pilots coupled with incremental planning can increase access without a large budget or extensive legislation.
I understand this issue cannot be solved overnight. Instead, I am only calling for renewed government interest in action that will address period poverty. This can begin by expanding pilots that would move the L.A county in the direction of an ordinance that would ensure permanent and equitable access of menstrual products for all.
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