On February 19, 2020, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria visited free canteen No 1 (free) of the Batumi Social Service Agency, which serves about 1200 beneficiaries daily.

Nino Lomjaria received information about the daily menu of the canteen, viewed the places where products are stored and checked the cooking conditions.

According to the Public Defender, the waiting lists and access to the service remain problematic, along with the infrastructure of free canteens. In addition, the food cooked in the canteens is not tailored to different nutritional needs of beneficiaries, including the needs of children.

It should be noted that 6 canteens of the Social Service Agency operate in Batumi and serve an average of 5 000 beneficiaries. Free canteens can be enjoyed only by the citizens enrolled in the state programme for identification of vulnerable families, assessment of their socio-economic situation and formation of database, the rating score of which ranges from 0 to 65 000.