San Diego’s Free4Me earns statewide award for tackling period poverty

Photo by Sora Shimazaki/Pexels

Menstrual equity is an often overlooked aspect of gender equality, encompassing the accessibility, affordability, and societal acceptance of menstrual products and education.

The 2022 Journal of Global Health Reports highlights a concerning menstrual equity issue in the United States. Around 500 million people lack access to menstrual products, and 16.9 million menstruating individuals in poverty struggle to afford them.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of the 16.9 million must choose between menstrual products and basic necessities like food, emphasizing the critical need for immediate action to address these challenges.

With that, the Country of San Diego launched the Free for Menstrual Equity (Free4Me) program in 2021, aimed at addressing the pervasive issue of “period poverty.”

And recently, grounded by their mission and vision to achieve menstrual equity, the program has been honored with the 2023 California State Association of Counties Challenge Award.

Winning the recognition, the Free4Me program focuses on providing free menstrual products in County bathrooms, particularly targeting vulnerable populations such as those experiencing homelessness, transgender individuals, youth, and low-income individuals.

According to the news release from the County News Center, the program, initially piloted in 24 County-owned buildings, installed 58 “free-vend” tampons and menstrual pads across the region.

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The $70,000 pilot of the Free4Me program distributed 277,500 menstrual products in its first two years.

Buoyed by this success, the initiative is now set to expand to over 300 County facilities by May 2024. Over 1,000 dispensers will be installed in all female and gender-neutral restrooms, along with one centrally located male restroom in each facility.