Kimberly Williams took her three daughters to the mall for some last-minute Christmas shopping this week and ended up buying a week’s worth of showers and emergency food for a person living on the street, pots and pans for a once-homeless person moving into their own place, and a blanket and binky for a newborn baby.

The unplanned purchases were made at the Altamonte Mall in Altamonte Springs, Florida, from a vending machine the family stumbled upon while passing the food court.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints set up three Giving Machines, providing shoppers a way to donate to charity with the ease of buying a bag of chips.

“This is wonderful because a lot of people, they want to give but they don’t know who to give to and why they should,” Williams said. “Here they have it all together for you. It’s simple. It’s not expensive. You can choose multiple things. You can have your kids help you.”

The vending machines offer items sponsored by five different charities, with a range of prices. Shoppers can spend $5 toward socks and underwear for a homeless person through The Neighborhood Center of South Lake, for example, and up to $250 for a medical alert bracelet for a low-income senior through the Osceola Council on Aging.

The vending items are pictured on the machine on outsized flashcards, which fall to the bottom of the machine, like a candy bar, when the donor selects it. The machine, which takes debit and credit cards as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay, tabulates the donations and, in March, checks will be given to the charities, along with an itemized list of what was purchased.

“When you look at these machines and the fact that we’re having to dump them out every day with just cards, upon cards, upon cards, we know that wonderful things are happening,” said Jennifer Hawkins, assistant communications director for the church.

The church will not disclose how much money it has raised through the Altamonte Springs machines, which opened for business on Dec. 17, until after they are removed from the mall on Jan. 2, Hawkins said.

The church has operated Giving Machines in other states and countries since 2017, raising more than $32 million, Hawkins said. This is the first year the machines are in Central Florida.

The church selected five charities from the 72 that applied to be part of the vending drive.

At the Altamonte mall, about half a dozen volunteers from the church and the charities have been on hand to answer questions and encourage donations. The three machines are set up in front of red carpets, and there’s a red banner behind that reads, “Light the World,” where donors can take photos.

“It’s funny. You stand there and you see people walking by, and they’re looking at it. In their heads, they’re like, ‘what is this?’” said Eric Camarillo, executive director of SALT Outreach, an Orlando nonprofit that aids the homeless and has items for sale in the machine, including a week of showers for $15, work attire for $40 and a laptop for a teenager or young adult to do schoolwork for $85.

Bruce Kwong, 16, found the machines while shopping with his mother on Monday. The teenager has volunteered at nursing homes, so he selected “senior pet care” for $15, which provides a low-income senior citizen’s pet with veterinary care and quality food.

“A lot of seniors are on the Meals on Wheels program, so they need help making their food. The little animal they have, that keeps them going, also needs help,” said Leslie Ochoa, venue manager for the Osceola council, which sold the pet care package.

The church chose a variety of charities and items to appeal to a range of customers, Hawkins said, “so that when they touch those buttons, it’s something that touches their hearts specifically.”

Shannon and Wayne Watkins are church members and drove from Melbourne with their three children, her sister and nephew to donate through the vending machines.

“We’ve been waiting for it to come here. It’s been all over everywhere else, but it’s never been close enough for us to go to,” Shannon Watkins said.

Their kids donated toys and baby supplies, and Watkins’ sister, Kimberly Ursic, bought chickens for a refugee family for $30, which was sponsored by Lifting Hands International and Catholic Relief Services, the only nonlocal charities in the machine.

“I wanted a goat, but they didn’t have the goat. I think it’s a fun idea, but also that’s something the person can use for a long time because they’ll produce eggs,” Ursic said.

“Everyone’s choosing those chickens. We’re competing with those chickens, man,” Camarillo joked.

Then, he added, “It’s really moving. The church is investing all this time and money and resources to make sure the nonprofits in the machine are getting the resources they need.”

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