Two Reed School students spent part of their summer doing good for others.

Emma Hettenbach and Bella Scott took it upon themselves to harvest some of the vegetables from their respective family gardens, then sell the fresh food from a temporary roadside stand. The proceeds from those sales, along with sales of flowers, and some handmade crafts and lemonade, were recently donated to FAITH Food Pantry (FFP).

The girls visited the Church Hill Road nondenominational pantry in late September, surprising some of the volunteers there when they handed off $150 cash and a bag of canned goods.

The girls, who have been friends since kindergarten, spoke about their efforts recently. Emma explained that she and Bella’s family both have gardens. It was while watching the news one day, she said, that she had the idea to help others in her community.

“I knew what was going on,” she said, referring to the pandemic. “I heard the news talking about people helping others, and people who needed help.

“I called Bella and asked her if she wanted to help FAITH Food Pantry, or the homeless, and she goes, ‘Yes,’” Emma said October 14.

Bella said she and her friend “have always really like helping people.”

“This summer we were talking about doing something for the community,” she added.

When asked if she understood FFP’s mission, Emma explained “they give food to people who need it, and they gather food and donate it.”

Bella also understands that FFP is “a place where people who need food can go to and get it,” she said October 19. “They also make donations to people, to help them.”

Emma’s mother, Kim Hettenbach, explained that the girls had been talking about growing a garden as early as May. By then, schools were closed due to COVID-19 and all studies were being done from home.

“During the closure,” Kim said, “they started talking about growing their own garden, to donate to the food bank. When they weren’t doing their classes, they would get together online, to call each other, and they would plan out this whole garden they wanted to grow.”

The girls did not get seeds into the ground early enough for their project, however, so they relied on what each family’s garden — already in progress — could provide toward their food pantry effort. Nevertheless, they did a lot of work this year.

According to her mother, Emma helped plant the family garden (before parts of it were selected for the food pantry) and watered it daily. Likewise, Bella did regular work in the garden at her home.

Helping others in the community had an additional benefit for the friends.

“It was also a fun way for her and me to bond over the summer, and get to see each other,” Bella said. “While we were helping people, it felt good because we got to do stuff together.”

The girls set up their roadside stand near Emma’s house “three or four times, over a few months,” according to Emma. They sold everything from kale, zucchini and yellow squash to cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and even some eggplant.

Toward the end of the summer, flowers from the two gardens were added to the offerings.

FFP volunteer Sue Shpunt was among those preparing to receive clients when Bella and Emma arrived at the pantry one Thursday in late September. Shpunt was overjoyed to be there that afternoon, she said this week.

“They were two of the nicest young ladies that you ever want to meet,” Shpunt said. “I was so impressed that they told me their story — it was them doing the talking, not their parents — and they were just so remarkable.

“We have some of the nicest people who donate to us,” she added.

Cash donations, Shpunt explained, are used to supplement items in the pantry.

Bella and Emma had raised a little more than the funds they donated to FFP last month for next year’s gardens. The budget they crafted back in the spring will be put into practice early next year, they both said.

The girls are currently in fifth grade at Reed Intermediate School. They are already looking ahead to spring and summer 2021, because they plan to plant and cultivate a garden from the start next season.

When she is not doing good for others, Emma likes to draw, dance, and “sometimes” do gymnastics.

Bella also loves dancing, and she is a Junior-Second Year Girl Scout.