A FORMER restaurateur has taken it upon himself to solve two of the cities major problems - food poverty and food waste.
Craig Johnson came up with the idea of using food usually thrown away, to help kids who are going hungry.
Social enterprise Launch Foods has served over 12,000 meals to children in Glasgow in a matter of months and is set to open a not-for-profit coffee shop in the city centre to help fund the project.
The team prepare hot meals at their base in Skypark before hopping in their American Airstream food truck to feed kids around the city after school and during school holidays.
All the food on the menu is healthy, packed with vegetables, low in fat and salt, and the packaging used is compostable and biodegradable.
Founder Craig says that the kids are doing him a favour - rather than the other way around.
“I was watching the news one night and they were talking about food surplus, and I happened to switch the channel and, on the other channel, they were talking about food poverty. I couldn't quite understand what was going on.
“There's billions of tonnes of food discarded because of the supermarkets inefficiencies. The fact that we don't want ugly fruit and veg is crazy - we can put all that to use.
“I went to speak to a few foodbanks and it became clear there's a stigma which stops people from using them. In the meantime, kids are going hungry.
“It’s clear that Scotland doesn't realise how tough things are for people and I thought, how can I feed kids without stigma and make use of surplus food.
“The truck is open to all kids, doesn't matter their circumstances at home. The idea was just to get myself a big shiny truck and make it fun for kids and make them see they are doing us a favour by using surplus food.”
Craig approached food producers who were initially reluctant to admit they had any significant amounts of food waste.
After getting them on board, the wheels were in motion to make meaningful change to lives across the city and hopefully plant the seed of enterprise in the children’s minds.
At the cafe, all food sold will go back into the project, whether that be buying more trucks or hiring staff to make the food.
The kids will have the opportunity to design smoothies to be sold at the cafe to show them that food is 'beautiful inside and out'.
Craig explained: “The whole idea is we’re there to compete against the biggest brands in the country but the benefit is that every time you buy a coffee or product you will feed kids in Glasgow.
“I would like the kids to understand that we’re a business, doing some good and making the most of surplus food.
He added: “Scotland at the moment is struggling and people don't want to admit it.
“It’s not the areas in Glasgow that you think are in need, it’s pretty wide spread. Areas you would be very surprised about.
“People are working hard and are still struggling. I just think we’re better than this. Scotland is better than this.
“We need to start looking after each other. If we don’t start taking care of each other what’s going to happen?
“We seem to quickly judge people with troubled backgrounds. It’s not the kids fault and I would argue that its not the parents fault because sometimes life throws stuff at you that you can't handle and if you don’t have the right support around you, you make bad choices.”
The Launch coffee shop will open in Bothwell Street early next year.
Councillor Chris Cunningham, City Convener for Education, Skills & Early Years said: “This is a partnership that we are keen to see develop as the council is committed to working with a variety of organisations to help tackle food poverty in our city.
“During the summer and October holidays – as part of the school holiday food programme – we joined forces with almost 100 third sector and voluntary organisations and charities who are delivering holiday activities and serving thousands of meals daily to Glasgow’s children and young people and already making plans for the February break.”
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