Sympathy scam with a man and kid at STC?

I was at STC recently and I was approached by a man with a shorter, stockier build, wearing a red flannel/hoodie and with a young child. The child did not look related to him whatsoever. He asked me for money so that he could "feed his 4 children at home". When I said no, he asked for my e-transfer email. When I said no again, he insisted, so I offered him food. Oddly he then started requesting specific items (fries, drink...). Regardless, my thinking was that the worst case scenario, the food is wasted (or maybe sold?). The best case, I fed a stranger.

After I bought him the food and handed him the receipt I saw him walking out of the place with the food in his hand, and the kid with a drink in his hand. Everything in my eyes would be fine and dandy if that was the last of it, but a little while later, I noticed him walking through the same area again. When I asked one of the people whom he approached, they told me the same story -- he was still asking for money. At this point I wasn't really sure what to do. And because I was a bit rushed to get home, I didn't linger much longer in the area. However, when I later got home I just couldn't shake the feeling -- especially regarding the safety of the child.

In hindsight it feels like I could have maybe done more? Maybe I should have reported him to mall security when I saw him soliciting for money a second time? In the moment there was a surge of mixed feelings, so I'm not exactly sure how I could have handled this situation better. Has anyone else run into a similar situation in STC or in the GTA? Is it worthwhile to call in to report this case? Curious if this is a known scam in the area. Also curious how yall would have handled this situation.