Free and cheap food
Community Fridge
We've launched a Community Fridge where we gather surplus food from businesses around the city to give away to students, for free! Based at the HUBS, we're generally open Monday to Friday (2pm-6pm) during term time, but keep an eye on our Instagram for exact opening times each week.
Food Works Sheffield
Food Works Sheffield is a community-run project that upcycles quality surplus and locally grown ingredients into delicious food and drink in their very own kitchen. They create nutritious, delicious meals at an affordable price at their locations in Sharrow, Upperthorpe, and Handsworth, as well as partner hubs throughout the city. Find your nearest hub.
Incentives
Many fast food places offer freebies when you download their app. It's an incentive to get people engaged with their brand, but there are some great items to be had. Chopstix are currently offering 5 free spring rolls, and Dunkin' and Greggs are giving away a free hot drink!
Loyalty schemes
It's also worth checking out what loyalty schemes retailers have, with some giving freebies in return for your continued custom. Costa, offering your 5th drink for free when using your own reusable cup, McDonalds give 100 points for every pound spent (unlocking reward items at 1500 points), and Taco Bell give you 10 points for every pound spent (unlocking reward items at 200 points).
Keep in mind though that you do have to spend money to get these rewards, so be careful not to spend more than you usually would just to get a 'free' item.
Discount cards
Some pubs and clubs have student discount cards that you can buy for a small fee in return for a continued student discount. True North have the Pledge Card for £4 offering 20% discount in four of their venues, and Crafted Social (Cavendish & The Graduate) offer 20% off food and 10% off drinks for signing up to UniCrew for free!
Free gifts
Lots of retailers also offer free gifts on your birthday when you have their app or are part of their loyalty club. True North (Common Room, Forum, Old Grindstone, and more) will give you a free £5 for your birthday, Krispy Kreme offer a free donut, and Hotel Chocolat offer a surprise gift.
Money Saving Expert
MoneySavingExpert have a wealth of information and tricks for getting cheap or free food and drink. Their website is constantly being updated so it's worth checking regularly.
Healthy Start scheme
If you're more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk through the Healthy Start scheme.
Microwaves and hot water points
There's nothing like a hot meal and hot drinks to get you through a day of studying. That's why we've created maps identifying the microwave and hot water tap locations across our campuses. These are all free to use and available throughout the Uni's regular opening hours.
Microwave and hot water point map - City Campus
Microwave and hot water point map - Collegiate Campus
Hallam Cafes
Hallam Catering have launched their Hallam Eat app (available on Android and iOS). For every 5 hot meal boxes, or 7 hot drinks, you'll get another one for free, just by scanning the loyalty feature on the app.
At Hallam Central (Level 6 Owen) and The Granary (Heart of the Campus), you can get a medium box from their hot counter for £2.50 or a large box for £4. The menu changes every day and you can fill it right to the top with extras like salad, potatoes, and nachos.
Hallam Cafes also do meal deals for £3.90 including any sandwich, crisps (or flapjack, brownie, or fruit), and any drink, or £4.90 to include a hot panini. You can get the most for your money by choosing a hot drink, which would usually be up to £3 on its own!
Between 8:30am-11:30am you can get porridge or cereal for free when buying any hot drink at Hallam Central (Level 6 Owen) and The Granary (Heart of the Campus). Their cheapest hot drinks are tea at £1.50 or Americano at £1.70. You can make this even cheaper by taking your own reusable cup to get 40p off!
Saving food waste
Too Good to Go
Too Good to Go connects members of the community with local businesses who have surplus food at the end of the day. 'Magic bags' (a mystery allocation of food and drink) are reserved for a fraction of the usual price and can be collected at a set time. It can be hit and miss if you're a picky eater, but you can get an amazing deal and help to reduce food waste.
Olio
Olio is an app where users list unwanted items and connect with people who can make use of them. It's mostly food products but there are other items on there too. Some businesses also use Olio so, whilst it's sometimes sparse, you could end up picking up some good food for free. Similarly, you can list any items you won't use to help minimise waste.
Meal planning
With the rising cost of the weekly food shop, preparing meals in advance can be a vital tool for saving money. We've compiled a handy guide on How to Meal Prep Like a Pro.
Creating a weekly meal plan, and making a shopping list and sticking to it, can help you stay on track with your spending when it comes to the weekly food shop. Knowing what you're going to be eating and when can help ensure you get the most for your money, and you can bulk-buy some items whilst avoiding food waste.
However, a weekly food shop can be daunting and it seems like a lot of money to pay out all in one go, but Sheffield has lots of great shops that are often open late, so it's sometimes as cheap to buy food as and when you need it. Keep an eye out for 'yellow stickers' - food that's reduced at the end of the day and can often be frozen to use another time. Different supermarkets reduce their food at different times so a bit of trial and error will work wonders!
Hallam Library's reading list of cook books includes useful resources such as cooking on a budget and how to cook if you have never cooked before.
Eat Smart Sheffield have a guide to cooking for your family on a budget, with lots of meals that can be made quickly, easily, and cheaply, with lots of variety for different tastes.