(CNN) Amid the desperate crowds and sparse shelves at supermarkets across the country, there is grace in the aisles. Jayde Powell is a "shopping angel," and she and her growing army of volunteers are providing free grocery delivery to the sick and elderly.

Powell is an honor student at the University of Nevada, Reno. She got the idea to organize a few volunteers to help out during the pandemic when her mother mentioned calling elderly neighbors to see whether they needed anything.

"As a pre-med student, I know that people who are older or people who have heart, lung or immune conditions are especially at risk for contracting the virus," Powell told CNN.

Kindness goes national

She started "Shopping Angels" by enlisting about 20 members of her medical fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon. As need grew, she reached out to other classmates and turned to social media to recruit more. But Powell credits her interview with CNN affiliate KVVU for putting Shopping Angels on the national scene.

Read More