Macon-Bibb first municipality in the state to offer free period products in county buildings

More than 200 free period product dispensers have been installed in Macon-Bibb County-owned buildings.

“No girl or woman should have to struggle to get the supplies they need each month for something they cannot control,” Mayor Lester Miller said Tuesday during a press conference at the Frank Johnson Recreation Center.

Miller plans to advocate at the state level for the removal of sales tax on menstrual products, telling The Melody that it’s “a drop in the bucket” for the state. 

“If we have toilet paper and paper towels in all of our restrooms because they are a necessity, then why shouldn’t we have period products for the larger population of our county, our state and our country?” he said. 

Last December, the Macon-Bibb County commission unanimously passed the ordinance to provide free tampons and pads in every county-owned women’s restroom. 

The installed dispensers are already making a difference for young girls in summer camp, according to the Macon-Bibb County Assistant Director of Recreation Armand Burnett.

“Our young ladies were able to get what they need without having to call home or call their parents,” he said. 

The effort began with co-founder of Georgia STOMP (Stop Tax On Menstrual Products) Claire Cox bringing the issue to Andrea Cooke, who is on the steering committee for Georgia Women (And Those Who Stand With Us) and a founding member of Macon Periods Easier. 

Cooke, who called period product accessibility a “basic human right,” collaborated with the mayor and county commission to bring the initiative to fruition. 

“Access to menstrual products is not a luxury,” she said. “It is a matter of dignity and equity.”

Georgia STOMP and Cox provided sample ordinances to aid the county’s efforts in becoming the first municipality in the state of Georgia to provide free period products in all county buildings. 

“Macon showed the way and led this state,” Cox said.

Georgia STOMP is actively working with other municipalities, like Atlanta and Athens to draft similar ordinances.

“It just spreads our mission even more,” Hailie Poppell, who is the president of a local advocacy group, Macon Periods Easier, told The Melody. 

The group strives to erase stigma and bring awareness to period poverty by facilitating supply donations and hosting period product giveaways for students and other community members in need.  Macon Periods Easier hosts annual community events, like the Witches Float down the Ocmulgee in October and Period Prom in April. 

Knowing that the county is providing free products in their buildings, explained Poppell, allows Macon Periods Easier to focus their efforts on bringing free period products to schools and community centers.

Each county dispenser will have a sticker with a QR code that links to the Macon Periods Easier Facebook for more information or opportunities to donate.