UK charity Action Hunger is planning to install two vending machines to feed and clothe homeless people in New York.
A vending machine has already been placed in the Intu Broadmarsh shopping centre in the UK city of Nottingham.
The vending machines will be stocked with goods donated by supermarkets, charities, and local shops.
Action Hunger will also purchase additional items such as socks and sanitary towels.
Volunteers will distribute the food and items to the vending machines each day.Â
Those in need can access the machines using a special key card that is programmed to permit them to take up to three items a day. The limit is designed to prevent people becoming "dependent" on the machines, as they are intended to complement other services, rather than replace them.
Action Hunger plans to bring the machines to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle in the future.
It cites studies conducted by UK charities Crisis and Homeless Link that found that there had been a 132% increase in the number of people sleeping rough in England since 2010, and that on average homeless people die at the age of 47, compared with the UK average of 81.
Find out more about the project here.
Images courtesy of Action Hunger
