Young Howard County Foodies Combine Baking, Caring

The holiday season usually stirs within most of us the desire to reach out and help others who have less than we do.

Whether it's buying a couple of extra toys for Toys for Tots, kicking in a little extra to the church collection plate or helping to serve food at a shelter or food bank, it makes us feel good to help make life a little brighter for others.

Recently, young foodies Thomas and Charles Regnante were moved to bake cookies to give to the homeless, according to a recent post on "2 Dudes Who Love Food," their own blog.

The 12- and 14-year-old brothers wrote that they were "saddened to learn there are many kids who are homeless in Howard County."

Spurred by statistics they found in an — which showed that the county's homeless population grew from 174 in 2009 to 221 in 2010 — they participated in an effort to bake cookies to donate the Day Resource Center in Jessup.

"Honestly, I was pretty shocked that so many people could be homeless in a county as nice as ours," Thomas, a Burleigh Middle School seventh-grader, said Wednesday.

Lisa Gueli Regnante, the boys' mother, said the family learned of a local effort to bake cookies for the homeless from her mother, Alberta Gueli.

Thomas and Charles, who review restaurant food and write about food in general on their blog, said they come by their love of food honestly.

Both sides of the family are Italian, and many events are food-centered.

"My family has a bunch of good cooks," Charles, a Centennial High School freshman, said.

Christmas means Christmas cookies, both boys said, and they can't imagine not having a home, and not having a place to cook and bake.

The boys made about four dozen cream cheese cookies from a recipe of Alberta's. They share the recipe and a video of them baking on their blog.

Alberta Gueli delivered the cookies along with others made by friends to the Day Resource Center, a Grassroots program, in Jessup.

The Regnante brothers plan to make the cookie baking for the homeless an annual tradition, and also plan to help throughout the year.

"It gave me a good feeling and I think I want to continue doing this," Thomas said.

"It gave me a good vibe," Charles said.