The Griffith branch received an Innovation Award for Sustainability on Monday at the annual general meeting of the NSW Meals on Wheels organisation.

The branch received the award for their 'Hampers of Hope' program, which aims to rescue food which would otherwise be discarded by supermarkets, bakeries and local growers and provide them to people and organisations in need.

Griffith Meals on Wheels program coordinator Tennille Valensisi said the organisation was "very exited" to be recognised for the award.

"It's wonderful to be recognised for what we are doing," Mrs Valensisi said.

"It was judged by an independent panel, it wasn't actually Meals On Wheels that judged it, which makes it really special I think because its outside parties that are looking at what we are doing.

"The awards are wonderful and they're the feel-good things, but the really feel-good things are the people we are helping and they are very grateful."

The program has been running since 2015 but officially launched in February.

Mrs Valensisi said the program has "exploded" in participation over the last year, with the amount of food being dealt with on a daily basis tripling since the beginning of the program.

"It's getting bigger and bigger just through donations," Mrs Valensisi said.

"We're doing about 30 hampers a day, 350 kg of food per day, we've got new donation partners coming in to help us and any donation big or small is always gratefully accepted.

"The demand is there, the need is there, these hampers are going out every single day."

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However, the reach of the program is not just a local one and Mrs Valensisi said the hampers distributed through the program extends throughout the entire Riverina.

"They're going as far as Leeton, Deniliquin, we've got a couple going across to Wagga," Mrs Valensisi said.

"It's getting out to the remote areas as well.

"For something that started so small and it's starting to be recognised and it's helping people, that's the main thing."

There were 10 nominations for this year's Innovation Awards, with the categories for 2019 being 'Sustainability' and 'Wellness and Reablement'.

The victory is another feather in the cap of the program, with the initiative also picking up a nomination for a regional Primary Healthcare Award in October.

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