VIDEO: A new type of vending machine called “Health to Go” is providing free wellness items across Pennsylvania communities, including hygiene kits, wound care supplies, Narcan, and more.
Organizers said the machines were designed with community feedback in mind. “We designed these very machines with the community in mind, with their feedback,” they said.
The vending machines feature interactive touch screens that display available products and maps of local community resources and services. “If the store’s closed, they can just walk up and get what they need and they don’t have to be afraid of who’s watching and what they’re thinking,” Crystal Perry of Friends and Neighbors of PA said.
The idea for the machines originated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when service shutdowns and rising overdose deaths highlighted the need for accessible health resources.
WGAL-TV NBC 8 Lancaster