'Heroic': Elaine C Smith visits charity cafe giving free meals to school pupils

A SCOTTISH celebrity has visited a café run by a charity which has given nearly one million free meals to school pupils.

Actress, comic and independence campaigner Elaine C Smith visited the Launch café inside Princes Square shopping centre in Glasgow, which she called a “heroic” and “fantastic” idea.

Launch first started as a charity in 2018, giving out free meals to children across eight primary schools in the Glasgow area.

Launch staff Ellie and Scott (Image: NQ) On average, the charity feeds around 300 children every day – and has provided more than 750,000 free meals since it began.

Launch has opened two coffee shops in the city centre, with all the profit going towards funding these efforts – one on Bothwell Street, and the newly opened café inside Princes Square on Buchanan Street.

Smith, known for her comedic roles in the likes of Rab C. Nesbitt and Two Doors Down, told the Sunday National: “When I first heard about the project, I thought it was a fantastic idea.

Elaine C Smith (Image: NQ) “It’s almost a heroic thing to do in this city. I’ve made my own money, lived a good life – and to come back to Glasgow and go, ‘Is this still happening? Are there still kids here who don’t get a hot meal a day?’

“We know there are [kids who need help], but the need is so great.”

Smith pointed towards a 2010 study called the Glasgow Effect, which compared the city with Manchester and Liverpool – which have similar levels of poverty and deprivation – and found that there were “higher levels of mortality and poor health experienced in Scotland over and above that explained by socio-economic circumstances”.

She added: “What is it about Glasgow that there seems to be no real shift in being able to get out of that?”

Smith said the Launch project was a “very simple idea” for people to get involved with.

“Glasgow’s got a big heart when it comes to stuff like this. Why would you not want to get involved?

“One of the problems with all the awfulness that’s going on in the world and the need that is out there is it seems so vast, that you don’t know what you can do about it or how you can change anything.

“Well, you can – just giving £1 will help to feed a kid. Come into Princes Square and get a coffee with your pal!”

Craig Johnson, founder of Launch (Image: NQ) Craig Johnson, founder of Launch, told the Sunday National: “I started Launch because I was watching the TV one evening, the news was on and it was talking about food scarcity – and I thought I should do something about this.

“It’s ridiculous that it has to be done, as a country we’ve got to be better.

“You’ve got a choice – you can either go to the big brands, or you can come to Launch, knowing that every penny of profit we make helps to fund our charity.

“Come visit us in Princes Square or on Bothwell Street. We’ve got great coffee, great cakes – you won’t be disappointed.”