Several organizations have joined together to create Loopholes, a cereal box filled with hygiene products instead of sugary breakfast foods.
Hana O’Looney,a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, is helping push the fictitious cereal on social media. Although she is the Student Member of the Montgomey County Public School’s Board of Education (SMOB), this project is not connected with that role.
Did you know that federal food assistance programs don’t cover pads/tampons? That’s why @periodmovement & our partners made #loopholescereal , the nation’s first (fictional) cereal that comes with period products so that it’s covered under SNAP 😉 (1/2) pic.twitter.com/B4XebDvMje
— Hana O'Looney | オルーニー後藤 花 (@hanaolooney) March 23, 2022
The goal of the social media campaign is to convince members of the U.S. Congress to support the proposed Menstrual Equity For All Act, which would include tampons and menstrual pads as eligible products under the federal SNAP program to “combat period poverty,” O’Looney said.
She pointed to national statistics that show that nearly one in four Americans who menstruate don’t have access to period care products or cannot afford them. The cost of a box of tampons is about the same price as the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
One hundred boxes of the cereal were created, she said. Each contains five pieces of menstrual care divided between pads and tampon. Its slogan is, “Loopholes cereal, part of an unbalanced society.”
According to the campaign, “Being able to regularly afford menstrual care in addition to groceries is something that is out of reach for far too many Americans. When money gets tight, one of the first things sacrificed is adequate menstrual care, which can lead to health risks, shame, and lost economic and educational opportunities.”
Therefore, the organizers want Medicaid benefits to cover the costs of the products. Another idea is to offer them free at universities, libraries and shelters.
The “cereal” was donated by OffLimits and is plant-based, gluten free and vegan.
