On December 23, 2023, in Tbilisi, on Rustaveli Avenue, the movement “Khma” organized a march. “More than half of the 600,000 public school students are hungry both at school and at home,” the organizers wrote in the announcement, calling on people to gather and demand free meals in schools.

According to a 2020 document from the Ministry of Health, food facilities exist in only about 30% of public schools, most of them located in Tbilisi and other urban areas. In rural areas, around 90% of schools did not have a cafeteria at all. In the 2023 Child Welfare Survey, a separate section was dedicated to nutrition during school hours. According to the data, only slightly more than one-quarter of children (27%) eat daily during school hours, while 35% never eat at school. Among children from economically disadvantaged and socially deprived families, cases of not eating at all are even more frequent (45%).

“Free meals for schools” — read the banner displayed on December 23 in front of the First Public School, near the statue of Ilia and Akaki. “Our class is hungry”; “We need bread and justice every day”; “Children are hungry here,” read the signs held by the participants. In addition to members of the “Khma” movement, school students also addressed the crowd. Miners from Chiatura, members of the “Rioni Valley Defenders” movement, and theater actors joined the protest.

Before the protest, the “Khma” movement presented its vision of how free school meals should be introduced starting in 2024.

Other non-governmental organizations were also raising the issue of school meals at the time and demanding a solution. The government had said back in 2021 that it was working on the issue. However, neither a concrete project nor a date for when children would gain access to free meals was announced.

The Minister of Education and Science, Giorgi Amilakhvari, stated in November 2023 that before implementing free meals in schools, the problem of cafeterias needed to be resolved, which would take 2–3 years. According to him, after the infrastructure issues were addressed, the next stage would be to introduce “certain models for those categories who really need it.” However, nothing changed regarding school meals in 2024.