Chefs, bakers, waiters and publicans in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales have banded together over the last week to prepare and distribute thousands of sandwiches, curries and bolognese to volunteers and residents affected by the floods. But many are now exhausted and ready to hand over the reins to professionals.

With the deluge washing away roads, cutting off towns and wiping out internet, many residents have been left stranded, hungry and cold. Locals say the official rescue and recovery response has been slow.

"We couldn't see any other action so we said 'let's start a Go Fund Me'. We just wanted to raise $500 for ingredients. It just escalated at a ridiculous pace," says Byron Bay chef Pip Sumbak, who is behind one of the biggest fundraisers in the region.

Together with fellow chef Wal Foster, Sumbak decided to cook a big batch of curry for stranded residents in Lismore. When the pair arrived in the town last Tuesday, they were shocked at the lack of official support on the ground.

Other hospitality businesses joined forces with the pair and their Go Fund Me has since raised $173,000 and prepared 200,000 meals, with volunteers distributing food via boat, helicopter and jetski.

Volunteers include Hotel Brunswick which has been coordinating and delivering food parcels, fine-diner Fleet which has turned its kitchen counter into an assembly line and Bangalow Lion's Club, transformed into a makeshift kitchen and distribution centre. Separately, Sikh Volunteers has set up food vans night after night in Lismore, Evans Head and other towns.

But after a week of coordinating the effort, Sumbak and Foster have stopped accepting cash donations and would like to hand over the responsibility to emergency response experts.

"When does someone step in who is qualified with how to do this thing? Or does the government expect us to do this unpaid? To facilitate food relief for the Northern Rivers? This is too big for us now," says Sumbak.

There are plenty of ways to support from afar, though. There's a spreadsheet full of links to volunteer callouts, community fundraisers and individual crowdfunding pages supporting specific towns, non-profits, wildlife and more. Lismore locals have set up a crowdfunding campaign for The Stockpot Kitchen, which was flooded last week but set up pop-up kitchens to continue feeding people in Lismore every day since.

In Melbourne, Falco Bakery is donating all sales of its Oomite scrolls throughout March to three different organisations in the region: Sikh Volunteers, Lismore City Council and a local fund for Aboriginal families. Oomite is a vegan Vegemite business based in Byron Bay.

P&V Wine & Liquor Merchants in Sydney have added an easy donation link to their online store for amounts between $10 and $200. Funds go to the Aboriginal Legal Service in Lismore, which lost its offices, the SES in Queensland and NSW, and the RSPCA.

"We want this to be handed over in a sustainable way," says Sumbak. "Or at least find freezers for all these cooked meals, so when these communities are still struggling in weeks and months to come, they can still be distributed. People will forget about this. The momentum's already slowing. We just don't want people to be left stranded."