Action Hunger to bring vending machines for homeless to U.S.

Nottingham, U.K.-based charity Action Hunger, which partners with British grocery retailers such as Tesco and Waitrose as well as manufacturers and other organizations, has installed what is believed to be the first vending machine that dispenses food and other essentials exclusively to homeless individuals.

Located in Nottingham outside of a shopping mall, the vending machine dispenses energy bars, fresh fruit, sandwiches, toothbrushes, antibacterial lotion, socks and other items for free when it is activated by a key card, reported an article on Newsweek.com. Action Hunger’s partner organizations in the U.K. have been distributing the key cards to homeless people. Ultimately, the charity hopes to install many such machines throughout the U.K., with train stations being ideal locations, according to Huzaifah Khaled, Action Hunger’s founder and director, who was quoted in the article.

In the United States, Action Hunger is partnering with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, a New York-based nonprofit, to bring similar vending machines to U.S. cities, beginning with New York in February, followed by San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles, according to an article on WashingtonPost.com.

U.S. grocery retailers and manufacturers interested in helping with this endeavor can email [email protected].