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Wayside Chapel's long-running Christmas Day party is back on in central Sydney after a three-year halt due to the pandemic.
Hughes Street Kings Cross will be transformed into an all-out block party, with celebrities including long-time ambassador actress Claudia Karvan slated to show up along with Santa, music and a three-course meal for the community.
This year, Wayside is also asking Australians to 'Donate a Plate' to feed and support a person experiencing homelessness and social isolation this festive season and beyond.
Pastor and CEO of Wayside Chapel, Rev Jon Owen, says Christmas can be an isolating time for the city's homeless.
"There are 37,715 people experiencing homelessness in NSW, and alleviating loneliness and disadvantage is more important at this time of year than ever," he said.
Peak body Homelessness NSW estimates there are more than 70,000 people sleeping rough across the state every night and has called on state and federal governments to inject $2 billion into the sector to house people in need.
More than 50,000 people are on the state's housing wait list, with an average waiting time of 10 years.
Indigenous people alone make up more than 20,000 of NSW's homeless population.
The Australian Homelessness Monitor 2022 released earlier this month says the average monthly number of people using homelessness services increased by 8 per cent in the last four years - which is double the population growth rate over that period.
This is compounded with food insecurity becoming a reality for many households as the cost of living skyrockets with inflation running rampant at around seven per cent.
More than two million households in Australia experienced severe food insecurity in the last 12 months, with 21 per cent of them saying they are sometimes skipping meals or going whole days without eating.
