The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/anabels-grocery/)
From a small pop-up in William Straight Hall to a student-led store that combines teaching with hands-on experience, The Sun explores the trajectory of Anabel’s Grocery on campus.
As a student body, we need to think about the relationship between food and power at this University. Through the lens of food, we can see the symptoms of structural racism. Through the lens of food, we can see how the University fails to effectively care for a significant portion of the student population. And through the lens of food, we can see a path forward.
Without a car, accessing food options is difficult, especially with ongoing TCAT detours and service cuts, according to students.
Anabel’s Grocery is partnering with two Hotel Administration courses to host the All in for Anabel’s fundraiser on Nov. 5.
Following its mission to affordable, nutritious food to all students, Anabel’s Grocery is now accepting SNAP/EBT benefits for eligible students.
“This place will be my new home for the next four years,” I muttered to myself as I lay my eyes on the soaring Clock Tower. It’s my first time being on my own, far from home for so long, and a sense of loneliness stirred inside of me. My lingering desolation deepened for every step I sauntered down Ho Plaza. Outside of the Cornell Store, waves of incoming freshmen paraded with their parents, swinging their carnelian red bags after getting Cornell merchandise for the family.
As I squirmed through the crowd, I found myself outside of Anabel Taylor Hall. On the sidewalk, a person with an apron saying “Anabel’s Grocery” was passing out cups of kombucha.
Anabel’s Grocery has committed to becoming an anti-racist organization by allocating funds from some products toward anti-racist student action on campus.
Since closing last March due to the pandemic, Anabel’s Grocery is back with an expanded inventory and outreach agenda
After months of advocacy, Anabel’s Grocery will reopen in the first week of March, almost a year after it closed in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When University leadership developed Cornell’s reopening plan, they committed to the safety and health of the student body and Cornell employees. Largely, as it relates to COVID-19, we applaud their commitment. Unfortunately, Cornell’s dedicated attention to pandemic-related safety ignores many structural issues on campus that threaten the health and wellbeing of both undergraduate and graduate students. Access to fresh, nutritious and affordable food is one of the most glaring examples, and it is worsening because of COVID-19.
Unfortunately, this phenomenon does not surprise the team at Anabel’s Grocery. Food security was already a concern at Cornell and campuses across the nation before the pandemic.