KIND-HEARTED staff at the Clutha Bar are to provide hot meals for Glasgow's most vulnerable during the coronavirus lockdown.
The city centre eatery joined a number of the city's pubs and restaurants in closing its doors last week in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19.
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But, staff at Clutha say they will be keeping their kitchen open and delivering freshly made meals to Glasgow's homeless and housebound during the coming months.
And having come through on the other side of its own tragedy - a helicopter crash which killed ten people - the Clutha's owner is sure the city will one day thrive again.
Alan Crossan told The Glasgow Times: "We had to take the tough decision in the first instance to close because there are many different generations which come into our pub and it is very important to put their safety and our staffs' safety first.
"We have all the certificates in our kitchen and we want to help the community during what's going to be a tough time.
"We hope to provide even just one meal a day to help people who are homeless because the night shelters are closing and they have no where to go.
"But, we will also be wanting to provide meals just for anyone who is unable to leave their home or make them.
"We are looking for people, if they can, to help fund it and to get in touch if they know people who will need our support."
He added: "We are doing it because we are the Clutha and it is what we do.
"We went through our own tragic situation and we came through it to live another day."
The bar will work with Glasgow charities Theatre Nimmo and Lights on G1 to distribute food and find people who most need their help.
And Alan hopes the Stockwell Street pub will keep the city smiling despite the tough times that might be ahead.
"If we know how many people we need to make meals for on a day, then we can prepare them and have them ready to go," he added.
"It will be simple things like mince and tatties that can be easily transported to people, who can heat them up in the microwave or eat them straightaway if need be.
"We are trying to get a positive message out there and we know there are some who will be panicking but we will come through it.
"We will come through this and I think we will be a better society on the other side.
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"We are also giving free meals to emergency service workers. They have helped us through the years and they are doing all they can to help us now.
"All they have to do is show us a pass."
If you would like to get involved or recommend someone who needs help, email alan@cluthatrust.com.
You can also donate to cover the cost of the meals by visiting the GoFundMe page.
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