Fattigvården på frammarsch, matpaket nästa?

But fast-rising electricity bills and surging food price inflation are taking their toll here as elsewhere. “Sweden also has a poverty problem,” said Johan Rindevall. “We may not talk about it much, but it’s there – and it’s absolutely got worse this year.”

Matmissionen, or Food Mission, a unique chain of social supermarkets in Sweden that has expanded rapidly since January, more than doubling its customer numbers as it offers means-tested members the chance to shop for food for less.

Johan Rindevall in a Matmissionen shop in Stockholm. Photograph: Simon Johnson/Reuters
Matmissionen’s eight stores – five in Stockholm, three of which opened this year, two in Gothenberg and one in Malmö – sell food donated by producers and retailers that is at risk of being wasted, usually because it has cosmetic blemishes, damaged packaging or a short sell-by date.

Är det över nu för Sverige? Blir vi ett av EU:s skräpländer? Hur har det gått för landet som tidigare var berömt för hög utveckling, små inkomstklyftor och social rättvisa? Varför blev det så? (Korta svaret = EU)