For the past 13 years the St Vincent de Paul Society has been providing sandwiches and hot meals once a fortnight to Orange residents doing it tough.

On Monday afternoon, as the volunteer-run service got ready to hit the road again for the first time in 2021, Regional Director Phil Donnan said they were expecting to be inundated.

Long before COVID, the Vinnies van provided around 50 meals a night to those doing it tough. Now, the number of those needing help was expected to increase dramatically due to both the pandemic and the city's housing crisis, Mr Donnan said.

"With the finish of those JobSeeker, JobKeeper payments we're seeing a lot of people that we didn't expect to see [and that] we haven't seen before," he said.

"The Orange district has seen an influx of people that are needing a level of support [which] all the agencies, not just St Vincent de Paul, are noticing. So, services like the Vinnies van... are very much appreciated.

"The rents go up but the disadvantaged haven't got any extra income so they're squeezed out, and there's a lot of pressure. A lot of their money goes on rent and there's not much money left for anything else."

Long-time Vinnies volunteer Graeme Press has even seen young people meeting the food van during the depths of winter with barely any clothing on.

"It is pretty gut-wrenching sometimes, you see kids turning up in June with just a singlet, a pair of shorts and no shoes on. That's gotta be tough," he said.

"And there's no heating at home," Mr Donnan added.

"Sometimes [the feed they get from Vinnies is] the only meal they get for the day."

From this week, the free food service will operate once a fortnight on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5pm until 7pm, stopping at a number of locations.

Volunteers of all ages are still desperately needed. For more information, contact the charity's Orange office on 6362 2565.

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