Food assistance for students

Higher education institutions operating in Kuopio and Joensuu have acknowledged that the coronavirus epidemic is placing some students in need of special assistance. The educational institutions have now joined forces, making donations to support their students. These donations are used to purchase food vouchers that will be distributed to students by parishes’ diaconal workers.

Students of the University of Eastern Finland, Savonia University of Applied Sciences and Karelia University of Applied Sciences who are in financial distress due to the coronavirus epidemic now have access to food assistance in Kuopio and Joensuu. Funds donated by the educational institutions are used to purchase food vouchers, allowing students in urgent need to buy food from grocery stores.

The University of Eastern Finland, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Karelia University of Applied Sciences, the Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland and the student associations Savotta and Poka are donating a total of 140 food vouchers to students in urgent need of assistance. The food vouchers will be purchased and distributed via student chaplaincy and diaconal work carried out by the Evangelical Lutheran parishes of Kuopio and Joensuu.

The vouchers will become available via the customer service points of diaconal work in the city centre of Kuopio and Joensuu, and diaconal workers will distribute the food vouchers to students contacting them. Students will need to show proof of identity, and to prove that they are students of the university or the university of applied sciences, upon collecting their voucher.

Students in need of food assistance should contact the diaconal worker of their neighbourhood by telephone or email to agree upon the details on when and where to pick up their voucher. You can find the contact information of the diaconal worker of your neighbourhood here.

For further information on the arrangements relating to food assistance, please contact the parishes’ student chaplains.

Raimo Hakkarainen
Chief Student Chaplain, University Chaplain
Ev. Lut. parishes of Kuopio
+358 40 4848471
raimo.hakkarainen@uef.fi