A little bit of festive spirit goes a long way for Sydney’s homeless and disadvantaged – especially in the icy months of winter.

July 25 provided just that at The Exodus Foundation’s annual Christmas in July lunch. On the day, leading Sydney-based chefs Justin North, Danielle Alvarez and Ross Lusted joined forces with delicious. editor in chief Kerrie McCallum and the Exodus team to help warm up a winter’s day with a traditional lunch with all the trimmings.

“I like to do something like this every year around my birthday,” says Alvarez of her involvement. “It’s important to give back to the community that has given me so much. And part of my job as a chef is to cook for people; it doesn’t matter who they are or where they come from.”

Roast turkey, ham, potatoes and Christmas pudding were included in this year’s Christmas feast for a difference, where more than 300 of Sydney’s most disadvantaged settling in for the warming winter feast.

For the homeless, winter presents a raft of new challenges, with icy winds and rainy weather making life particularly tough for those who have no where warm to retreat to.

It is an issue that continues to worsen, too, with a recent ABS report from March 2018 showing that homelessness had increased by 14 per cent between the 2011 and 2016 census. In NSW alone, the rate has increased by a huge 37 per cent.

The Exodus Foundation has been tackling this crisis head on for many years, with this special Christmas feast being just one of the many ways the Foundation supports the homeless community.

Year round, The Exodus Foundation provides food, healthcare and crisis support to Sydney’s most needy, and is one of our leading frontline charities. Every day, the foundation provides up to 500 meals at their Loaves and Fishes free restaurant, as well as preparing emergency food parcels and running a food truck every day in Woolloomooloo.

Along with a warm meal, The Exodus Foundation offers some basic creature comforts that so many of us take for granted, like hot showers, free haircuts, warm clothes and laundry services.

Learn more about the Exodus Foundation, and how you can help, online.