During the two-week long strike that saw more than 1,000 Cornell workers walk out and closures of eateries around campus, Cornell gave 50 City Bucks — which is equivalent to $50 — to students on some University meal plans. Cornell described the move as a “gesture of appreciation” in an email to students obtained by The Sun.
As students discovered places to spend their newly acquired currency — which is accepted at 12 Ithaca area brick-and-mortar businesses and through Ithaca To Go, a delivery service — one participating restaurant did not appear in Cornell’s online list of establishments that accept City Bucks: The Yellow Deli.
However, in late August, a sign appeared in The Yellow Deli’s window that City Bucks and Ithaca College ID Express, a similar Ithaca College currency for buying food, would be accepted at the restaurant.
A sign outside The Yellow Deli on Sept. 10 advertises their use of City Bucks. (Anushka Shorewala/Sun Assistant News Editor)
The Yellow Deli, which opened its location in the Ithaca Commons in January 2023, is operated by the Twelve Tribes of Israel, a communal religious group that holds fundamentalist Christian beliefs. Since its founding, the Twelve Tribes has come under scrutiny for its views toward marginalized groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Twelve Tribes as a “white supremacist cult.” According to the SPLC, the Twelve Tribes holds a “tangle of doctrine” that calls slavery “a marvelous opportunity” for Black people and maintains that “homosexuals deserve no less than death.”
The group denies accusations of racism and antisemitism, citing its embrace of several Jewish customs and inclusion of Black and Jewish members. The Twelve Tribes publicly disapproves of the LGBTQ+ community and “homosexual behavior.”
The Twelve Tribes has also been accused of labor law violations, child labor violations and child abuse, which has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Twelve Tribes previously owned a café in Ithaca called the Maté Factor, which was shut down in 2018 over child labor law violations. Ex-members told the Denver Post in 2022 that new Twelve Tribes members were required to sign away their possessions to the group.
Although The Yellow Deli is not listed online alongside other participating restaurants such as 7-Eleven and Texas Roadhouse, The Sun has independently confirmed that The Yellow Deli accepts City Bucks, and — like other restaurants that accept City Bucks — a card reader in the restaurant processes payments using Cornell Student IDs.
Neeman, a worker at The Yellow Deli who asked to be identified by only his first name, said the restaurant went through a “simple process” about five months ago to begin accepting City Bucks. Neeman said that he did not remember the details of this process.
According to Neeman, since the restaurant started accepting City Bucks and Bomber Bucks, a few people have used them to buy food at the restaurant.
“We are thankful to be able to take the City Bucks,” Neeman said. “We are just happy to be able to take them and meet new people.”
Lindsey Knewstub, a representative of Cornell University Media Relations, declined to comment on what process, if any, The Yellow Deli underwent to be approved to accept City Bucks or whether the University was aware of allegations against the Twelve Tribes.