Photo: Georgina Laskari (Instagram: @la_georgina_ph)
Cheap living in Malmö - Food Edition
By: Evangelina Nicole Dimovska
2nd of November 2022
Find yourself asking friends and family to help you out with rent or food a bit too often? Not sure how you’ll survive with the prices skyrocketing like never before?
I wish I could say that I’ve been there and it got better, but in reality, I never left, and with how things are looking, it seems like we will all be stuck here for a while. That is why I’m sharing my tips and tricks to find the cheapest food in Malmö, because little did we know when High School Musical sang “we’re all in this together” how true that would actually come to be.
Hot Tip:
Don’t throw away scraps or fresh produce that you won't have time to eat! Instead, portion it, and keep it in bags in the freezer to help it keep for longer. You can use scraps for broth, and the fresh produce is good for stir-fries!
Hot Tip:
Don’t throw away scraps or fresh produce that you won't have time to eat! Instead, portion it, and keep it in bags in the freezer to help it keep for longer. You can use scraps for broth, and the fresh produce is good for stir-fries!
When used diligently, this list can help you save hundreds of kronor. I once managed to survive on about 100kr one month, but it was also thanks to me having bought loads of dried foodstuffs, like 20 kilos of rice, 5 kilos of dried beans etc when I had the funds for it. So when you can, buy in bulk, you will definitely thank yourself when the time comes.
(Monday, Wednesday, Friday 16.15-18.00)
This organisation hosts a food bank that consists of salvaged food from restaurants and organisations. It’s completely free, but please make a donation if you can!
(Möllevångstorget 10-15 Mon-Sat,
Fridhemstorget, Nydalatorget and Värnhemstorget 10-18 Mon-fri, 10-15 Sat)
Get there in the last 15 minutes for some extra cheap deals, that is when they want to get rid of as much as possible. For example, I once bagged 1 kilo of cherries for 5kr!
(Mon-Fri 08:00-21:00, Sat 08:00-19:00, Sun 09:00-19:00; Times vary from store to store, so be sure to check their webpage to find the exact times of the one closest to you)
Inside they often sell things that are close to expiring, like meats, which are so easy to freeze and use later. At the end of their checkout, they have big metal baskets that have yesterday’s bread, fruit, and vegetables for 10kr or 20kr a bag. If you want to be sure to get your own before they run out, Lidl in Västra Hamnen (and potentially the others as well) usually fills their baskets with the bags between 8-10 in the morning.
(Mo – Fri: 08:00 – 21:00 Sat: 08:00 – 19:00 Sun: 08:00 – 18:00)
Singelgatan 1
You take the number 6 bus and jump off at Katarina Kyrka, and there you’ll find Lucu Food, who proudly title themselves the “price paradise of Malmö,” and they’re not wrong; you can find 2 litres of 3% milk for 19kr and onions for 5.95kr. They also have Oatly and other vegan options, but these are priced higher than you’d find in ordinary shops. For our dear international students, you can find many of your favourite items from home since they hold a vast number of items. A lot of Balkan and Slavic food is to be found here (it is the only place in Malmö where I’ve found Stobi Flips) and they’re also well stocked in everything Asian.
(Mo-Sun 8-21)
A lot of vegetables and fruit as the name suggests, and a lot of Arabic and Balkan delicacies! Vegan options are available, but last time I checked they were also a bit on the costier side since they, like Lucu, in their international sortiment. Easily accessible by bus 8 and there’s usually a fishmonger right by the parking lot with good prices as well.
Facebook Groups:
Save the food – Malmö | Facebook
Here, the members post about their findings from scavenging and it’s completely free, first come first serve!
Fy fan vad billig MAT, MALMÖ | Facebook
A community that constantly posts updates and reports of where the cheapest deals are at the moment.
These are tried and tested by yours truly, and I sincerely hope that you’ll find that frequenting these establishments instead of your local Coop will help you save up for more interesting things than overpriced coffee!
Write down in the comments to let me know how it went and good luck! <3
– Gina
