2 Girl Scouts build food pantry in front of school

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Two fifth grade girls from Albany are working to ensure all of their classmates have something to eat. Girl Scouts Eva Maddox and Abbey Witonski opened a food pantry in front of New Scotland Elementary School on Thursday.

Their mothers said both Eva and Abbey noticed some of their classmates didn't have enough food. They would share their lunches with other students, but they wanted to help out more.

"They're very fortunate," Shanelle Carter-Maddox said. "They come from homes that don't experience food insecurity, and so for them to realize and notice that their actual friends and classmates were having trouble staying full throughout the day, and then wanting to do something about it, is amazing."

The girls worked with school administrators and community organizations to build the pantry. Eva and Abbey won the Bronze Award for the project, which is the highest award in Girl Scouts.