city will offer free menstrual products at four facilities as a pilot project

the city of ottawa will offer free menstrual products at four municipal facilities as a pilot project, based on an analysis of neighbourhood equity.the albion heatherington, overbrook, sandy hill and foster farm community centres will have products available in baskets in female and universal washrooms when public access to the facilities returns. the covid-19 pandemic has temporarily closed centres.staff estimate the one-year pilot project will cost $58,000.coun. jenna sudds has been pushing for the city to look at ways to provide free menstrual products. it took staff almost a year to get back to sudds on several questions related to access to menstrual products as they researched experiences in other cities which offered free menstrual products.“feedback from most jurisdictions on the start-up phase indicates that while the community response is positive, the up-front and ongoing servicing costs are significant, and usage is relatively low,” staff wrote in their response to sudds.in ottawa, nine city facilities collectively have 40 menstrual product dispensers that charge a fee for the items (between 25 cents and $1 per product). city hall has the most at 23 dispensers.according to staff, the city has more than 100 recreation facilities where menstrual product dispensers could be installed. dispensers cost $295.in deciding which community centres should participate in the pilot project, city staff used the ottawa neighbourhood equity index, which shows there’s a “strong equity concern” in those four neighbourhoods.the city is using baskets instead of dispensing machines to quickly get the pilot up and running, rather than going through a procurement process for dispensing machines.sudds said tuesday she’s happy to see the city launch a pilot project.“the issue of lack of access to menstrual products has largely gone unaddressed by all levels of government so it makes me very proud to see our city take a step in the right direction,” sudds said.“menstrual products are expensive, yet essential. often low income is a barrier to accessing these products. this barrier has much farther reaching consequences than people might realize, impacting ones dignity and overall health.”period packs, an organization that aims to give people equal access to menstrual products, has been donating products to 450 ottawa residents each month.since the start of the pandemic last march, period packs has been working with the city’s community and social services department and human needs task force to distribute more than 30,700 menstrual products to community organizations.meghan white, the co-founder of period packs, asked the city during the 2021 municipal budget process to run a pilot project offering menstrual products.jwilling@postmedia.comtwitter.com/jonathanwilling