Iowa teen launches free delivery service to ensure seniors always have groceries

Over the last few months, Tanner Kenin and more than a dozen other volunteers have made it their mission to keep senior citizens safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kenin, 17, came up with the idea for T's Angel Hands after his grandparents had a hard time finding a grocery delivery time. He didn't want them to go to the store and risk getting sick, so he started T's Angel Hands as a way to help them and other seniors. Through the service, people in Polk County, Iowa, who are 60 or older — as well as those who are pregnant or have underlying health conditions — can request that a volunteer pick up their groceries and deliver them to their home, free of charge.

There are 15 teens from five different schools helping Kenin with T's Angel Hands, and they make 35 to 45 deliveries a week. Kenin told The Daily Optimist that T's Angel Hands recently helped a woman who is blind and partially deaf. She was running out of food, and a volunteer rushed a grocery order to her. It's "neat knowing that we could impact someone's life like that," he said.

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