Coles Dubbo, SecondBite help Orana Support Service feed homeless, elderly, families

But thanks to second-hand food services like SecondBite, which packages-up unsold food and donates it to community programs that provide it to people in need, some people can at least rely on a feed when they can't afford to go to the supermarket.

SecondBite is one such program operating in Dubbo. It claims to be the largest free food rescue organisation in Australia, and it works with growers, manufacturers and retailers to rescue and redistribute surplus food to community groups, schools, charities and not-for-profit organisations.

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In 2011, the organisation joined forces with Coles supermarkets and the partnership has seen the duo supply the equivalent of 200 million meals donated from unsold, edible food diverted from landfill around Australia over the past 12 years.

In Dubbo and the central west, SecondBite has provided almost 34,000 kilograms of unsold food to nine agencies in the past year - that's a total of 68,000 meals.

Some of the agencies to receive the food include Dubbo Neighbourhood Centre, Orana Support Services, Yindyamaara Aboriginal Services, Wellington Community Care, Food Care Orange, Molong District Baptist Church, ADRA Australia, Narromine Community Skills, Narromine Uniting Church Food Barn.

Orana Support Service chief executive officer, Tina Reynolds, said the need for this food was growing as everyday costs rose.

"We get a lot of people through the doors to get food," she told the Daily Liberal.

Orana Support Service collects food through a number of providers, some of which it pays for, including FoodBank, OzHarvest, Woolworths, and Coles and SecondBite. All food supplied by Orana Support Services to the community is free for those in need.

"We get a lot of people through the doors each and every day that are in need of food. We can get anywhere from 20 to 50 people per day - it just depends," Ms Reynolds said.

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"Everyone's circumstances are different and we like to have food here to know that people aren't going hungry. SecondBite is a fantastic support to help us provide that food."

Ms Reynolds said the number of people coming to Orana for help had "definitely increased a lot" in line with the rising cost-of-living and she was seeing more elderly people and families coming in for assistance.

"Years ago, it has mainly been homeless and people in temporary accommodation we're assisting, but it's growing now - we're assisting elderly people and families, a lot of people are finding it tough at the moment," she said.

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"It's the cost-of-living in general: electricity has gone up, rentals are more expensive to rent, food has gone up, and people are finding it a lot tougher to have that extra money [for food]."

Ms Reynolds said the team members were looking at where they could expand their service to meet the need.

"We do outreach quite often. Anyone who is sleeping rough, we work with them, we assist them and try to find temporary accommodation, we assist them with food," she said.

"When it was hot we would go down and make sure they have water - most of the rough sleepers in town we know and we work very closely with."

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Sarah Dougherty, Coles Dubbo Store Manager, said the team was "really proud" to be providing thousands of nutritious meals to members of the Dubbo community in need.

"By allowing unsold, edible food to reach local families without enough to eat, it provides a valuable service to the Dubbo community and reduces food waste," Ms Dougherty told the Daily Liberal.

"We know many Dubbo households are feeling the pinch at the moment, and our partnership with SecondBite is just one way Coles is working to provide some relief to people doing it tough."