Montgomery County will dispense free period products at all county-owned facilities

Free period products will now be available in the bathrooms of all county-owned facilities in Montgomery County, including public parks, courthouses, and health and human services buildings.

The policy, announced by the county on Monday, goes into effect immediately. “It was the right thing to do, and pretty simple to execute,” said Jamilla H. Winder, the chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.

The policy is part of a larger push throughout Pennsylvania to address period poverty — when people are unable to afford or access menstrual hygiene products.

One in four women or girls have had to skip to school or work because they were unable to afford menstrual products, according to some national estimates. That number is increasing as inflation has driven up the cost of tampons and pads, forcing some people to turn to unhealthy alternatives — like wadded-up paper towels or rags — instead.

Countywide data for the depth of period poverty in Montgomery County was not immediately available, but Winder said the initiative was driven more by the bare-minimum nature of the issue.

“We don’t want anyone choosing between buying period products and groceries,” said Winder. “If one person is dealing with period poverty in Montgomery County, it’s an issue.”

The period policy came together in less than four months, Winder said. It was sparked by a conversation she had with Gov. Josh Shapiro, who told her that his wife, Lori, had plans to make the issue central to her advocacy as first lady of the state.

From there, Winder went down a rabbit hole of research, meeting with state representatives and touring organizations like Jenkintown’s Mitzvah Circle, which distributed over 836,000 period products in 2023. Along the way, Winder said, she learned that the county did have a policy that required it to stock some dispensers with products available for 25 cents each, but it wasn’t “consistently enforced.”

Montgomery is now the only county in the region to require free menstrual products be available in county-owned facilities. A spokesperson for Chester County said officials there appreciate Montco’s initiative and “believe it is something worth considering.” Spokespeople for Delaware and Bucks Counties did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether they plan to enact similar policies.

A spokesperson for Philadelphia said the city is in the process of creating a request for proposal for a period products initiative.

The state earmarked $3 million in this year’s budget to provide free period products to public and charter schools by request, while several bills are awaiting approval in the state legislature.

» READ MORE: Pa. could give out free period products in schools

One bill — introduced by State Rep. Darisha Parker (D., Philadelphia) — would push Pennsylvania to apply for fee waivers to cover menstrual products under the federal assistance programs SNAP and WIC. Another, from Montgomery County State Sens. Maria Collett and Amanda Cappelletti, would require the state’s public agencies to provide free period products.

Women’s groups in Montgomery County have praised the policy for making period products one less thing to stress about for people in crisis, like those experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence situations.

“I think it’s fabulous,” said Beth Sturman, the executive director of Laurel House, a Norristown-based domestic violence agency that operates an emergency shelter and transitional housing facilities in Montgomery County.

Sturman remembers what it was like to be a “young woman with limited funds” worried about if she could afford basic supplies.

Kathy Rusch — the director of primary prevention and community education at the Women’s Center of Montgomery County — said there’s a “real need” for free menstrual products to be more widely available.

The center is able to provide women with gift cards to buy their essentials, Rusch said, but the funds haven’t been able to stretch as far since the price of menstrual products has climbed faster than the price of food.

» READ MORE: How a Haddon Heights student helped push legislation mandating period products in N.J. schools

“Asking yourself whether you have enough money to buy tampons or pads when you’re already in a tumultuous situation is horrible,” said Sherman. “It’s more stress.”

“I love that the county is doing this,” she went on. “It’s not like the general public is thinking about it.”