NSW Meals On Wheels chief executive Les MacDonald said petrol was by far the biggest cost facing the organisation's volunteers and a ``major issue'' which governments must look into.

"I am hearing anecdotally from people all over NSW, and much more so in the past 12 months, that our existing volunteers are saying they can't continue because of the cost of fuel,'' Mr MacDonald said.

"And those who have been thinking about volunteering have done the maths and are saying they don't think they can afford to do it.''

Mr MacDonald was speaking in Parramatta on Friday after NRMA director Coral Taylor presented $20,000 worth of fuel cards to Meals On Wheels to help volunteers with petrol costs.

He said about 75 per cent of the 35,000 Meals On Wheels volunteers in NSW were pensioners on low and fixed incomes.

"You can't ask someone who has volunteered to help you to then pay for the privilege,'' Mr MacDonald said.

"If we lose our volunteers the State Government is going to have a major problem and a major cost.

"They are going to have to start putting their hands in their pockets and help these services.''

"Mr MacDonald said the organisation's representations to the State Government concerning fuel costs had not met with much success so far.

"Long-serving Parramatta Meals On Wheels volunteer Jack Tudor, from Northmead, has been delivering meals for the organisation three days a week since 1991.

He said fuel prices meant many volunteers had to decide whether or not to leave their car engines running while making an average of about 15 deliveries a day.