Social distancing restrictions impacted the way the centre usually operates and manager Shirley Kent said they had to restrict face-to-face contact.

"We did have to close the doors to the public to limit face-to-face contact and follow social distancing restrictions, but we continued with a number of services behind closed doors," she said.

The centre continued to support locals by orgainisng food packages and helping them find ways to secure food if they were in need.

Now that restrictions have eased, the centre has re-opened and most of the services have resumed.

"We do still have restrictions in place and are only allowing five people in the centre at a time. We have sanitiser and are asking people who are unwell not to visit the centre," Shirley said.

"Everyone is very glad that we've resumed most of our services as normal, I think a lot of people are relieved."

Shirley said although food security was an issue early on during the pandemic, the JobKeeper payments have been a lifesaver for many in the community.

"Initially there was a food security issue and it was a challenge for a number of locals, but JobKeeper payments have meant people do have enough money to purchase groceries.

"I think there's a misconception that people are using the payments to buy things for themselves, but what we've seen is people being able to pay off loans for the first time and buy enough groceries to last them the week and not live day-to-day," Shirley said.

Shirley said they have also been encouraging people to buy grocery gift cards for themselves for when times are tough.

"I think we will see people struggle again when the JobKeeper payments are lowered in September and food security will become an issue again," Shirley said.

For now, the Neighbourhood Centre will continue to provide food services to people in the community while also looking for ways to start up the community groups again.

"The groups we run really help people with that social aspect, and that's what we have seen become an issue for people, not having social connections during a very isolating time," Shirley said.

The centre is seeking spaces to use for the groups that are large enough for up to 20 people.

"We don't want to turn people away, so finding a place that's large enough for our groups is what we're doing now.

"We'll also be starting our barbeques again in a few weeks. Because they're outside, we'll be able to have more people and they can interact and build social connections."

Smaller groups that the centre run in South Kempsey are able to resume, as well as the men's group.

"We're just looking for broader spaces for our larger groups and then they will be able to resume as well," Shirley said.

To contact the Kempsey Neighbourhood Centre directly, call 6562 8300.