Craig Johnson's City Centre cafe funds a meal for 300 Glasgow schoolchildren every day but he doesn't want your charity.

To be clear, if I win the lottery he says he would expect me to give him a sizeable donation but he wants office workers and visitors to drink his artisan coffee and eat the homemade cakes because they are tastier than the ones served by the big chains.

His staff are better paid he says, with the end result that they are happy to be there and the customer service is good.

However, he hopes the day will come when his cafe isn't a charity or better still doesn't exist at all.

Mr Johnson opened Launch Coffee on Bothwell Street just over a year ago which funds an after-school meal for every pupil at six Glasgow primaries.

READ MORE: Glasgow tops Scottish child poverty list with one in three affected 

The children are served in a "totally impractical" American-style giant silver truck. 

"I wanted the kids to think it was cool and it was worked," he said.

"We go in with the food trucks immediately after the school day so that we know they will go home with a full tummy.

"I was nervous about the kids feeling like they were a charity case so we promote it to them that are helping us with surplus food stock, that they are helping the environment.

"Folk will say to me, why are you feeding the kids that don't need it? It's important to me that the kids who do need it don't feel embarrassed in any way."

On the cafe itself, he says he wants to give the big brands a "run for their money."

He said: "I don't want people coming in for the sympathy vote. We've got home-baked goods, we've got Japanese coffee, we've got the best staff in Glasgow.

The Herald:

"They understand that their job is to get as much money out of you as possible. Why, because it means they will get paid well and we can feed kids."

He says he wants people to understand how severe poverty is in Glasgow but doesn't want the children they help to think it's normal or inevitable.

"I struggle a bit with the foodbank thing," he said.

"I know it's necessary but my fear is those wee souls we feed grow up thinking it's acceptable"

READ MORE: A quarter of Scots parents say their children are worried over finances

He doesn't want to get political in the article ("Who is interested in my opinion") but says: "I'm a proud Scot and I don't feel that way anymore."

He signed the lease for the venue before the pandemic struck when Bothwell Street was thronging with office workers and cars filled every parking space along the street.

Given the switch to hybrid working, he's had to be inventive and now offers office catering and says he's very well supported by the big firms surrounding his business in the city's financial district.

In a previous life he worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland and had three restaurants in the city. He says he thought he would do the food truck project for a while, then "get on with the rest of his life."

"When I started doing it though...it's really tough to walk away from," he said.

"I was going to parts of Glasgow I'd never ventured into.  I knew they were there but there was no reason to go.

The Herald:

"I just felt that if Launch could stand on its own feet, it would be a good source of income for what we do."

"I've worked hard to make it this busy," he added.

"I moved quickly into office catering through necessity.

"I've secured business with the biggest brands in the country, so we've got JP Morgan, PWC, Edrington.

READ MORE: SNP calls on Westminster to match Scottish child payment 

"We weren't busy enough but I needed to convince those companies, so our product has to be right.

The schools they support were picked on a first-come-first served basis and spread across the city.

The children are given a meat or fish wrap or vegetarian pasta, a bottle of water and fruit or a sweetie and he says he receives valued support from Brakes, Highland Spring and Simon Cowie Butchers.

Every fortnight around a dozen children are invited into the cafe to serve customers.

"A number of the teachers told me that these kids haven't been in a coffee shop," said the charity owner, who is married with three children.

The Herald:

"They all say the same thing, 'This is what we are going to do when we grow up.

"You can tell a child anything and they will believe you, so why don't we start telling them a different story.

"Those kids have a huge advantage over kids who have grown up in softer environments. They've got steel running through their veins.

"If you want to go into business, guess what you need.

"I want to show the kids that enterprise is a good thing, there is nothing wrong with making money, just don't buy a yacht.

"Do some good with it and don't forget to look back."