The new venue also marks a change in the organisation of the giant community event, with the Acts of Kindness Charitable Trust, formed by Grant and Anne Hardy, taking over from long-standing organisers the Rev David Brown and his wife Jean.
For 25 years, Mr and Mrs Brown organised the Christmas Day dinner at the St Andrew St Church of Christ, working with volunteers to celebrate Christmas with up to 280 people from throughout the community.
After last year's 25th annual Christmas dinner, the couple stepped down as organisers, and there was some uncertainty about the event's future. Enter Mr and Mrs Hardy, who were inspired by Mr and Mrs Brown's example to form the Acts of Kindness Charitable Trust with fellow trustee John Watson, and take up the challenge.
''We saw that David and Jean were hanging up their hats after last year's event and decided that now was a good time to get involved,'' Mrs Hardy told The Star.
''It is important that the event retains the same community feel - it is about making sure everyone can have good company at Christmas.''
Mr Hardy said the Dunedin Community Christmas Dinner was not only for people and families in need, but also for people alone at Christmas.
''At Christmas time, there is a lot of emphasis on family, which can accentuate loneliness for people,'' he said.
''We are very keen on bringing the community together at Christmas, so that we can create a family atmosphere together.''
The Browns and the St Andrew St Church of Christ community were pleased to hand over the task to the enthusiastic trustees, and were delighted the event would be held in the Dunedin Town Hall.
''The event had really expanded beyond the capacity of the church to manage it - it really needed a bigger team and a bigger space,'' Mr Brown said.
With the support of the Dunedin City Council and Dunedin Venues, the dinner will be hosted in the town hall's main chamber and will cater for 530 people.
Dunedin Venues marketing manager Kim Barnes said hosting the community dinner would be a ''terrific opportunity to give something back to the community''.
With such a potentially large crowd to feed, the trustees needed to source a lot of food, and have been overwhelmed by the support of local farmers and businesses. Havoc Farm Pork has donated 1200 slices of ham (about 90kg), a group of Clinton farmers has donated hoggets, potatoes have been donated by a South Otago farmer, and Ernest Adams and Cowell's Genuine Pavlova have also come to the party.
The food will be cooked by Dunedin Venues' Compass Catering team, who will volunteer their time.
The tables will feature centrepieces created by members of the Dunedin Floral Art Society.
The Otago Heritage Bus Society will provide transport to and from the town hall.
Sponsorship has come through Internal Affairs community grants and other sponsors.
Council of Social Services Dunedin (COSS Dunedin) executive officer Alan Shanks said the organisation was lending its support by networking within its organisations, and also by taking registrations for the event.
The trustees are also looking for volunteers to help serve the meals, and to help out as table hosts.
For information, and to book a place phone COSS Dunedin on 471-6150, or visit the website tiny.cc/dinner
