Stasia Dabrowski, now 91, wrote off the soup kitchen van when it clipped a railing on Hindmarsh Drive last Tuesday.

Thankfully no one was hurt in the accident. It also failed to dent Stasia's determination to feed the poor and needy. But it left her without a proper vehicle as the van only had third party insurance.

Stasia and her grandson, Joshua Kenworthy, are now using his 2001 Holden Astra to perform the work of the soup kitchen but it's barely adequate.

The pair - who have been working together for 22 years, since Joshua was five and old enough to peel vegetables for soup - are using the small car to do their daily bread runs, pick up vegetables, deliver food including treats to clients of a Canberra methadone clinic on Thursday.

They still intend to hold their weekly soup kitchen in Garema Place on Friday from 11am. She's been doing it for nearly 38 years, providing not only soup but close to 200 sandwiches.

Joshua, a plumber, was meant to be back at work by now but he has an understanding boss who is allowing him to continue helping his grandmother.

"She won't give up," he said. "I'm trying to get her to stay at home. But I think she's worried that's when her body will shut down. She's constantly moving, up at 4am and not laying down until eight or nine o'clock, six days a week." (Saturday is for church.)

Joshua's former partner, Eileen Lawrence, suggested crowdfunding a new van for the soup kitchen and this week started a GoFundMe campaign.

In two days, by Thursday lunchtime, close to $5000 had been raised. The initial target was $8000 but more was likely to be needed to replace the old van, a 2007 Toyota Hiace LWB. By the end of the day, more than $20,000 was pledged for the van.

Joshua said they had been humbled by the response of Canberrans.

"Unbelievable. It is absolutely amazing," he said.

Stasia, sitting for a moment under a tree in the heat of the day as she prepared to distribute the treats to the methadone clinic patients, said she was motivated by only two things.

"Love and no judgment," she said.

Joshua, meanwhile, intends to take over the soup kitchen and run it for his grandmother. He'll also be behind the wheel of any new vehicle they might acquire.

"She's never driving again," he said.

But he knows whatever the future holds, his grandmother will be by his side, continuing to help those in need.

To donate an amount towards the new soup kitchen van go to https://www.gofundme.com/stanislawa-dubrowski-soup-kitchen