Kicking off on 1 November, this year more than 600 restaurants across the UK are taking part, adding a voluntary £1 per table to their bills.
New restaurants signed up for this year include Lilibet’s, One Club Row, Rosi, Plates, Kudu, Motorino, Lupa, Canal and Wildflowers, joining long-term supporters St John, River Café, and OXO Tower, that have all taken part for the past 20 years.
New for this year is a special StreetSmart toastie that is available at Fortnum & Mason until the end of the year. Earlier this month the department store, in collaboration with StreetSmart, held a toastie competition that saw top London chefs Andrew Clarke, Karan Gokani, Jeremy Lee, Anna Tobias and Tom Brown create Christmas-themed toasties with the winning creation sold at the store for November and December, and proceeds going to StreetSmart.
The winning chef and toastie will be announced on 4 November.
One in every 200 households in the UK is experiencing homelessness, making the UK the country with the highest rate of homelessness in the developed world, according to StreetSmart, which has raised more than £15m since it began.
Long-term ambassador of the charity, food writer and critic, Jimi Famurewa says: “Each year, the UK’s best restaurants take part in StreetSmart to help those caught up in the misery of homelessness, and it remains a vital, simple way to pay the spirit and generosity of a great meal forward.
“The altruism of restaurateurs and their diners has helped make a lasting difference to so many lives.”
Chef and restaurateur Hélène Darroze adds: “For those of us fortunate enough to be able to pick and choose when and what to eat, StreetSmart is a way to support the people who simply don’t know where their next meal will come from.
“At a time when the world has felt more divided than ever, it has never been more important to look out for our most vulnerable neighbours.”