During her volunteering shifts she makes more than 200 sandwiches for members of the community struggling to make ends meet.

While making sandwiches fills most of her volunteering time, serving hot meals and takeaway packs to visitors is what has kept her coming back to the service for so long.

"I like serving people, meeting different characters and having a chat," she said.

"That is the follow through of why you make the sandwiches. If I never had that interaction with the public I don't think I would like it as much."

Demand for food relief through the Breezeway program increased dramatically throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers served up 3000 hot meals and 2700 sandwich packs to people in need in Ballarat in March, almost double the same time last year.

"It is an absolutely necessity for some people," Ms Nicholls said.

"A lot of people we serve, I am pretty sure they live in a house but they just can't make ends meet for all their expenses.

"There is a number of people I don't know what they would do without the meal a day. We also give them the meal to take away."

The team adapted to run a takeaway only service throughout the pandemic and returned last week to its traditional sit down lunch service with a sandwich pack to take away.

Breezeway Meals Program coordinator Jen Wright said a large part of the service was to offer an opportunity for social interaction.

"There is a huge amount of value in people interacting with others who are in a similar situation," she said.

"They learn a lot from each other and also find other services that may be assistance to them in other elements of their lives."

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Ms Nicholls said she enjoyed chatting with visitors to the service and fondly recalled in depth philosophical conversations about art with some regulars once they found out she had been involved in the arts.

She said she had also enjoyed learning to work as a team with the diverse group of volunteers and enjoyed bringing joy and fun to the group.

One volunteer once gave her a chefs hat to wear while making sandwiches.

"We all laughed and the clients laughed, so every now and then I bring the hat in for a bit of fun," Ms Nicholls said.

"I think it is important that people take the volunteering and working in such an intense environment with a bit of fun and same with the clients, be ready to see the bright side of life with them."

The Courier is celebrating Ballarat's volunteers during Volunteering Week from May 16 to 22.

Ms Wright said Breezeway was an unfunded program and would not be able to operate without volunteers and there was always a need for more people to join the team.

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