Vending machines for homeless just launched in UK to debut in US

IT all goes back to the countless hours Huzaifah Khaled spent on trains and in train stations, shuttling back and forth between his home in Nottingham, England, and classes at the University of Cambridge, some 145 km away.

"In the UK, train stations are almost magnets for homeless people," Mr Khaled said. "When I'd be waiting for trains, walking to and from the train station . . . I came into contact with a lot of them." He talked with them, bought them coffee, and over time, developed relationships with them.

"I essentially developed a very deep understanding of their needs," said Mr Khaled, who recently got his PhD in law. It hit him that, for the homeless, even basic necessities are hard to access, and the limited hours for drop-in services at day shelters meant people had to schedule their days around visits to the shelter, making it hard to hold a stable job or see family regularly.