The East Maitland man was announced as the Hunter 2019 Volunteer of the Year at an award ceremony in Newcastle on Friday.

Mr Milburn was honoured for his efforts to rescue up to 10 tonnes of fresh farm produce each year, which is turned into 5,000 meals for people in need throughout the region.

He helps collect fresh produce from local farms that would otherwise go to waste. He transports the food to Slow Food Hunter Valley where it is turned into delicious and nutritious meals for people in need.

It started out a few years ago when Mr Milburn instigated a food rescue of more than 20 tonnes of pumpkins that were destined to be fertiliser.

"Then it all blossomed from there," My Milburn's wife Noeleen said.

As well as a passionate food saver, Mr Milburn has also been involved in Kiwanis, which helps in need children around the world, and the Salvation Army Strategic Emergency & Disaster Management.

Related: Peach rescue at Slow Food Earth Markets

But Mr Milburn says he doesn't do any of it for awards and Mrs Milburn said her husband "almost fell off his chair" when he was announced as the Hunter Volunteer of the Year.

In his acceptance speech, he dedicated the award to all volunteers.

As well as taking out the overall award, he also won the Senior Volunteer of the Year category.

He was nominated for the accolade by Slow Food Hunter Valley leader and former Maitland Citizen of the Year Amorelle Dempster.

Mr Milburn has now been invited to attend the Gala State Ceremony in Sydney for the announcement of the 2019 NSW Volunteer of the Year.

The NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards is an annual program run by The Centre for Volunteering which has grown to become one of the largest celebrations of volunteering across the country.

In NSW alone, volunteers contribute more than $5 billion to the economy each year.