Established as an aid to the homeless, the association Action Hunger has developed a vending machine for those staying on the streets. These automats will meet the basic needs of the homeless, such as food and clothing. The free service developed over the past two years has gone into usage for the past week. The vending machines will be tested in a shopping mall in Nottingham, UK, for a month.
It is not known how many people live in the country, but the charity Crisis says that according to the figures given by the state, a total of 4,134 people were lying in the streets in any night in 2016.
Many different organizations provide counseling, housing and assistance for homeless people free of charge, but these services are very limited and only available during office hours. Action Hunger aims to provide 24/7 service to the needy owners.
In the vending machine there are fruits, snacks, sandwiches, personal care supplies and clothes. Everything is offered free to the homeless and can be used with a card system. According to The Guardian, most of the fresh food in the vending machines is provided by wholesale companies. Other supplies are purchased with donations made to the assembly. Three cards per day are available with each card. With this limit, it is being tried to prevent the homeless from being totally dependent on these machines. Among his donors, Professor Stephen Hawking, who also has Action Hunger, will soon be putting a vending machine in the city of Manchester. The project is reportedly supported by the United States, Canada and other European countries as well as the United Kingdom.