With college students having to pay for bills and gas, eating out at restaurants can prove to be an expensive ordeal for one’s bank account.

For Sacramento State students, more than 40 participating eateries in the area offer discounted meals with just a flash of the student I.D. card better known as the OneCard. Discounts range from free drinks to reduced prices.

Chevy’s on Howe Avenue applies 15 percent off an entire order when students show their OneCard, while Mr. Pickles on Folsom Boulevard offers a free soda or bottled water, chips and a cookie with a sandwich purchase. Yogurtland also offers Sac State students a free 3 oz. yogurt creation.

Sophomore journalism major Taylor Cattaneo, 19, said she appreciates getting a student discount, especially when she goes out to eat with friends.

“It’s nice that Sac State kind of gives something back to us,” Cattaneo said. “[The discount is] really convenient. It cut my price down a pretty decent amount, so I try to use it as much as possible.”

Senior criminal justice major Ana Lara, 21, loves to visit Big Spoon because it offers a 10 percent discount at all locations, just like both Bento Box locations on 65th Street and at Loehmann’s Plaza.

“It’s nice to buy food near Sac State and know that a student discount applies to your purchase,” Lara said. “Especially as a college student, it’s always nice to save a couple dollars.”

Although there are many restaurants that offer OneCard discounts, some favorite fast food fare isn’t included.

Junior public relations major Kyle Corbet loves visiting Pita Pita at the F65 plaza off of Folsom Boulevard near campus. The restaurant offers $2 off meals sold to students with the card, but Corbet wishes more businesses offered deals to students.

“It’s a shame more businesses don’t support local students with discounts,” Corbet said. “If Taco Bell offered a student discount, I’m not sure my body could take all the food I’d buy there.”

Despite the exclusion of cheap eats such as Taco Bell and Jack in the Box, the OneCard discount includes a dollar off value meals at the McDonald’s on College Town Drive.

Sac State alumna Chelsea Castillo wished she knew about these discounts before she graduated.

“I wasn’t even aware that we had OneCard discounts until my last semester. If I had known sooner, I would have used them on a frequent basis,” Castillo said. “Being a college student allows for little or no time for home cooked meals and saving some money on-the-go would have been helpful.”

Whether the discounts lower the cost of food altogether or give a student a free drink, a little bit goes a long way when it comes to college students saving money.

Sammie Moreno can be reached at [email protected]