DALTON, Mass. — Loaves and Fishes community food pantry showed State Representative Leigh Davis their operations and expressed some of their needs.

On Tuesday, the Loaves and Fishes food pantry was gearing up for their weekly food distribution at the Dalton United Methodist Church. This week, they had a special visitor.

"Food insecurity is an issue that I'm very very deeply concerned about, and I've been focusing on different organizations such as People's Pantry in Great Barrington, the Community Market at CHP, and now I wanted to come out to Dalton, and see the work that Roots Rising is doing, Loaves and Fishes, is just so important to have in this area because, as we heard, that the need just keeps growing." Davis said.

Davis visited the church, that allows Loaves and Fishes to use its space for storage and distribution.

Director Jen Messenger said all of their food is donated from people or places like Big Y, Highlawn Farm, and more. The donations help over 100 people a week.

"People are welcome to come every Tuesday, and our average is about 120 to 125. But we'll see different people throughout the month,” Messenger said. “We see a lot more people beginning and end when SNAP benefits run out."

The pantry volunteers fill boxes that they give out to visitors or those who drive through. Messenger said many line up down Main Street sometimes hours before 4 p.m. when they open. They hand out food until 6 p.m.

Messenger said they have bigger boxes for families of five or more and smaller boxes for single households. Anyone can get a box.

Many of their volunteers are older but they have help of  teens from Roots Rising who Messenger said are amazing and always have good attitudes when they pack the boxes and help check the donated foods.

Roots Rising’s mission is to empower youth and build community through food and farming. One of their programs is the seasonal farm crew where the organization hires teens to go out and work on local farms 

"So not just working on the farms, but they take culinary lessons, they come and they also serve at food pantries. We really believe in showing teens that they can make a really big impact. So whether that's on the farms, how much they can affect and support the farms, but also here. So, obviously the volunteers here making a huge difference, and then they're supporting them in that as well," said Roots Rising Executive Director Jess Vecchia. 

Many of the kids told Davis that they liked working on the farms and learning. Vecchia also said this work and volunteering at the food pantry has inspired to  bring this type of help outside of the organization as leaders.

"There's been some chatter amongst them that they want to start a volunteer club at school because this has felt so powerful for them,” Vecchia said. “This has been a highlight over the summer, is the work that they've done here at the food pantry, and so they want to continue it and bring more young people into this work."

Messenger said many of the volunteers are older, and it's been a help to have younger kids involved and showing an interest in this type of work.

Davis asked what some of the pantry’s needs are. She planned to bring this back to the State House.