The pilot project is led by University of Tartu students and will be open Mondays to Fridays between 2 pm. and 4 p.m, initially, until the end of October.

It aims to provide an affordable lunch option with prices ranging between €3.50 and €4.20.

Katariina Sofia Päts, president of the University of Tartu Student Union, said the initiative is student-led and dependent on demand.

"The success and continuation of the project directly depend on the number of customers. Therefore, I urge all students in Tartu to have lunch at the canteen regularly. Together, we can demonstrate the need for a more sustainable solution," she said.

Päts told Wednesday's "Aktuaalne kaamera" she was "positively surprised" about the number of people that attended on the first day.

The student lunch is an extension of the school's lunch and once the secondary school pupils have eaten, university students can enter the canteen.

Students can enter from a separate entrance on Jaani street. Payment in cash or by card. 

The idea of a student canteen was born this summer when representatives of Tartu Analytica, an initiative group of students and alumni, contacted the university and drew attention to the increasingly difficult economic situation of students.

The university has also started cooperation with Foodsharing Tartu and plans to open the first food-sharing cupboard by the residence hall on Purde street.

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