This Group Delivers Groceries To Older People During The Coronavirus Outbreak

With people flocking to stores to prepare for long stints at home because of the coronavirus outbreak, it can be risky for those most vulnerable to its effects—such as older people and people who are immunosuppressed—to go into stores to get the food and supplies they need. Now, one pre-med student has created a genius solution.

Jayde Powell, a student at the University of Nevada, Reno, created an organization called Shopping Angels, according to CNN. It’s made of a group of people who volunteer to deliver groceries for free to people who need them.

Some people give the angels a shopping list and money, while others order and pay ahead and the volunteer picks the order up. The volunteers wear gloves and don’t enter the clients’ homes out of safety precautions.

She told CNN she got the idea from her mom, who had suggested to her that she reach out to older people in her neighborhood to see if they needed any help getting groceries.

The organization started out with 20 people from her medical fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon, but after doing an interview with Fox 5 Las Vegas, Jayde said she soon received requests to join from people from all over the country.

“I’ve got people in Connecticut, Long Island, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Arizona that want to volunteer,” she said. She then connects volunteers to those who need them in their area.

Jayde also told CNN that she doesn’t want people to feel they’ll be refused help if they cannot pay. In fact, she’s set up a GoFundMe to help support those who need it.

“We don’t want money to be a deterrent,” she said. “If you cannot afford toilet paper or something like that, you’re still to reach out to us.”

If you want to get involved or learn more, you can visit the Shopping Angels Facebook page here.