Ecological, Economical, & Social SHOPPING in Finland
Loop (ex WeFood) Redi shopping center
Last-minute food: great deals and every time you shop you rescue great products and help the environment.
https://goo.gl/maps/QeNErHuc5STSWdcU6
S-Markets & Alepa´s Shops – between 21.00 – 00.00
Between 21.00 and midnight, discounted products with a 30% orange label, become 60% cheaper than the official price.
There may be even a few articles with permanent discounts of 70% (in Alepa’s).
In some some supermarkets, the bakery gets a 90% discount, but you need to ask about it.
https://www.expat-finland.com/shopping_in_finland/groceries.html
Fiksuruoka.fi / Matsmart.fi
Online surplus shops that fight food waste.
(orders arrive after several days – one week)
Fiksuruoka gives you more benefits. I noticed also lower prices and more selection.
www.Fiksuruoka.fi
www.Matsmart.fi
Foodsharing Helsinki (Keru)
You can take what you need or give food that you don’t eat. In Kallio, at Setlementtitalo.
It’s free, for everyone, and it does not require a subscription.
* If you live in another city than the capital, you can go ahead and organize a local food sharing group!
Keru Helsinki Facebook Page
Lidl Shops – Hävikki Box
Some Lidl shops have something called “hävikkilaatikko” (surplus box).
It costs about two euros, and it has fruits and veggies.
This box is often located near the counters.
https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/makuja/artikkeli/ruokien-alelaareilla-kay-kuhina-myos-lidlissa-yksi-erityistuote-viedaan-kasista-edelleen-tosi-suosittu/8050074
(use Google Translate or chrome to translate it)
Saiturinpörssi
“One dollar store” that has a lot of packed food in discount,
https://www.google.com/maps/search/saiturinporssi/@60.0136819,24.8052105,8.64z
Tokmanni
Hardware store, it has some food departments with produce on sale.
https://www.google.com/maps/search/tokmanni/@60.0097672,24.8052034,8z/data=!3m1!4b1
ResQ Club – Phone App
App that shows you deals in real-time.
Unfortunately, not all shops use it for surplus food, they often try to do marketing with it. Therefore, check the prices before buying and make sure to read and leave reviews.
https://www.resq-club.com/download-app
Vegetable stands in Hakaniemi Market
€1-2 for bags of mixed produce.
The stands are outside, usually until 12.00 or 14.00.
https://goo.gl/maps/cBPXJv3PjewJnAqJ6
Budget Asian Shops in Kallio
In Kallio there are many affordable places where to buy food.
Here a couple of them.
Aseanic Trading Oy – JIAHE Asian Market
https://goo.gl/maps/hreNuXuTNJVL71wr5
https://goo.gl/maps/9ke8cGnJ3GohqMVL9
Pick up berries and mushrooms in the forest
Get some skills about wild edibles gathering and go to the forest.
Meet someone skilled that can go with you, at least the first time. Or search for events on Facebook.
Read the guide and use apps to identify berries and mushrooms.
Golden Rice Bowl – Sushi & Asian Buffet – Near Linnänmäki
9,20 euro for lunch buffet mon-fri 11:00-15:00.
11,00 euro for lunch buffet sat-sun 12:00-18:00
One of the most affordable, yet good quality, sushi buffets in town.
They have some vegetarian options too.
Please remember to not abuse the buffet and eat all the food you take.
https://goo.gl/maps/M417AoZutAdpqqvV8
Unicafe
Restaurants owned by the Helsinki University student union, with about ten outlets in central Helsinki.
They offer full meals from €5.70, including vegetarian and vegan options.
unicafe.fi
lounasmenu.fi.
Offerilla
Website and app with deals.
You need to search a bit to find something good.
It’s kind of the “Finnish version” of Groupon.
Ruoka-Apu
Charities offering free or cheap food. Mostly churches and non-profit organizations.
Remember always to be considerate when dealing with food, the best way to save money with food is to avoid wasting it.
– Organize your refrigerator in a way that you consume first what needs to be eaten.
– Donate what you don’t eat, either to food sharing or even on the Facebook marketplace.
– Take (donated) food only if you need it, and can eat it.
Did you find this article useful?
Please comment and share your thoughts.
Go ahead and let us know if you have other tips about inexpensive food in Helsinki.
CyclOrbit: Bike - Travel - Theater 
A lot of useful advice how to get cheap and free food! I also like the environmental and foodsaving part of it.
I also love dumpster-diving a lot, altough it gets more and more difficult in Helsinki over the years… so it’s great to have a backup plan 🙂
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Thanks Michal for your comment and for reading the article.
I am happy it was useful for you.
Once you have checked out some of this systems to rescue food, you can drop another line to let me know.
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