Dunedin RSA finance officer Sally Turner said volunteer numbers had been dwindling steadily.
This year the RSA had struggled to get enough collectors.
"People are just getting a wee bit old and people who have been doing the same stall for years and years, just aren't able to any more."
The national RSA annual Poppy Appeal started yesterday and runs through to Anzac Day, with the traditional street collection on Friday.
Ms Turner said she did not know how many veterans still sold poppies, but by far the majority of volunteers now were from schools, community or military organisations, or local businesses.
Many people had already volunteered to help with the 30 stalls the Dunedin RSA would be running in its area on Friday, but more were needed.
Dunedin organisers hoped to at least equal last year's record poppy sale figure of $100,000.
The Dunedin RSA's area include branches in Arrowtown, Cromwell, Lawrence, Maniototo, Omakau, Palmerston-Waihemo, Otago Peninsula, Port Chalmers, Queenstown and Waikouaiti.
The money went directly to the local community's veterans and their spouses, RSA welfare officer Maggy Brownlie said.
Two welfare officers at the Dunedin RSA managed the money, which each year was granted for things ex-service people could not get funding for from elsewhere.
That might include grants for eyeglasses, window washing, help in the garden, the installation of handrails and heat pumps.
People did not need to be members of the RSA to apply for funding.
They had to be ex-servicemen, women or their spouses, he said.
Mosgiel RSA vice-president Sandy Trainor said there would be 13 stalls in Mosgiel on Poppy Day.
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