This year the food bank abandoned a rule that people had to have a Centrelink or Pension number to access their cheap or free grocery store, Manager Manager Wendy Klasen said.

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"There's a lot of people in Tamworth who work in the hospitality industry. These people still have loans, they still have rent but they all of a sudden don't have the income they're accustomed to," she said.

"When we first started you had to have a Centrelink number, or a Pension number, but when the COVID came in we just sort of opened it up, to step up and help out everybody. We even had a solicitor come and join. They're no limitations to the type of people we can help.

"And the fact that they're even walking in the door, or they're ringing the phone, just shows they are needing our assistance."

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The food bank has seen more and more demand every year since it was founded in 2017, she said.

But the year of coronavirus has proven to be their biggest yet.

Liberty Church Senior Pastor James Ardill said the grocery store, which buys most of its food from the NSW Foodbank, has over 3000 people on its books. Last year it had just 1800.

The store also gets food from local grocery stores that would otherwise go to waste.

Mr Ardill said with the federal government's increase in welfare payments this year, their average purchase has increased.

That means people are spending their money responsibly, on the basics, rather than high-priced luxuries.

"People know how to survive. The people of Tamworth and the area that we serve, they know how to survive," he said.

"[Are] they doing it tough? Yes, basically."

Ms Klasen said, for Tamworth's most vulnerable, Christmas is often the hardest time of the year.

"People chose between eating and giving to their kids, so this is where it's our opportunity to just help out a bit. We've got a few little kids' toys and things like that in there, to just throw in as freebies," she said.

"At Christmas time it's a very commercial in the way that there's so many people with so many presents and kids get so much these days. So the pressure is on the parents financially, for sure."

The food bank this year is offering Christmas hampers worth about $80 for just $30. They plan to give about 30 or 40 away to their most loyal customers, Mr Ardill said.

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