You can eat affordably at participating campus restaurants thanks to the Kela meal subsidy. Here you will find instructions on how to get the discount, information about campus restaurants, and up-to-date lunch menus and prices.
How to get an affordable lunch
As a degree student, you are entitled to a meal subsidy from Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland) at participating campus restaurants. The subsidy is automatically deducted from the price of your lunch when you show a valid student card at the payment counter.
If you have not yet received your student card, you can prove your study right in two ways:
- Show your Student Union membership fee receipt and a valid ID.
- Show a certificate of enrolment downloaded from Peppi.
If you are not a member of the Student Union but are entitled to the meal subsidy, you can apply for a Kela meal subsidy card from Student and Learning Services.
Good to know: Open University students are not entitled to the Kela meal subsidy. However, campus restaurants are open to everyone.
Dining at campus restaurants as a doctoral researcher
As a doctoral researcher, you are entitled to a staff-priced lunch at campus restaurants. Show a researcher’s lunch card signed by the head of department at the payment counter.
In Joensuu, a separate doctoral researcher price is available, which is lower than the staff price. You can get this by showing a certificate of enrolment or a doctoral researcher card.
Campus restaurants and lunch menus
The Joensuu and Kuopio campuses have several restaurants and cafés. Some restaurants are staff restaurants where the student discount is not available.
You can find up-to-date information about restaurants, lunch menus and opening hours here (opens in a new tab).
Prices and meal subsidy
The meal subsidy is €2.80 per meal. You can find the current prices alongside the lunch menus.
You can find more information about the meal subsidy on the Kela website (opens in a new tab), where you can also see which restaurants are covered by the subsidy in each locality by using the search under “Participating student restaurants”.
Special diets and accessibility
If you have a special dietary requirement or need special arrangements related to accessibility, contact the restaurant directly in advance.