| Sumario: | Approximately one‐third of Australian households experienced food insecurity between 2022 and 2024, highlighting a prevalent public health issue. Food relief organisations play a pivotal role in addressing the food insecurity crisis, with volunteers fulfilling the majority of necessary staffing resources. Volunteers are uniquely positioned in the food system as the intermediaries between food resources and food relief users. This qualitative study explores the experiences and perspectives of Australian food relief volunteers, using semistructured interviews (N = 13). Four themes were constructed using reflexive thematic analysis that explores insights into stigma, empathy and the dynamics of food rescue and distribution. These include (1) Humanity in Volunteering, (2) Notions of Deservingness, (3) Changes in Demand and (4) Changing Supply Landscape. Findings spotlight that the role volunteers appear to play in mitigating stigma, which persists as a social determinant of health and a barrier to accessing food relief for people in need. Our analysis also draws attention to the quantity, quality and safety of donated food in the food relief sector. Implications for food insecurity, food relief organisations, governments and future research directions are discussed.
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