The Division of Student & Campus Life has decided to end the University’s affiliation with the Center For Transformative Action — the parent organization of many on-campus initiatives including Anabel’s Grocery, Durland Alternatives Library and Prisoner Express — starting June 2025. Over $100,000 in annual funding for CTA will be cut off two years later.
According to a statement emailed to The Sun from Dean of Students Marla Love, the affiliation between the CTA and Cornell United Religious Work — a multifaith community of more than 40 affiliated religious and spiritual leaders — will expire in June 2025. University funding for CTA will continue for two more years to give the organization time to find alternative funding sources.
The CTA website states that the center was “born from the turmoil of the late 1960’s at Cornell” at a time when many chaplains within CURW took part in anti-war and civil rights protests. In 1971, the Cornell Board of Trustees moved “to house these activities within a newly incorporated, education-based center, one that was affiliated with, but legally separate from, Cornell,” the CTA website states.
According to Love, “The agencies now supported by CTA, including Anabel’s Grocery, have outgrown the intent of that 1971 agreement and their affiliation with CURW.”
“We have been connecting across the institution to find CTA a supportive home and look forward to continuing those efforts,” Love wrote.
CTA is the fiscal sponsor to 35 non-profit organizations that focus on a range of social causes, many of which exist outside of Cornell in the Ithaca area and beyond.
Anabel’s Grocery, which is housed under CTA, has helped provide subsidized produce to students since 2017. The store was created by two students in response to a 2015 survey that found that 22 percent of Cornell students responded that they “skipped meals or [did not have] enough to eat because of financial constraints.”
Anabel’s launched a petition on Friday asking for signatures and testimonials “requesting the university continue its longstanding financial support of CTA, and share testimonials on how Anabel’s and other CTA programs have impacted your time at Cornell.”
The petition’s webpage further stated that the decision to end CTA’s affiliation agreement will take “away over 100k in annual endowment income after June 2027,” adding that “while Cornell is working towards finding another affiliation for the CTA, it will very likely not include any funding.”
Love wrote in her statement that “the university has been working diligently to find ways to sustain Anabel’s Grocery,” noting that “the course associated with Anabel’s Grocery is an important community-engaged course that reaches around 115 students each year.”
According to CTA’s most recently published financial statements, in 2023, Cornell contributed a total of $138,726 to CTA, including donor-restricted assets, which carry restrictions as to how they can be used.
At time of publication, 624 people have signed the petition and 185 testimonials have been written. The testimonials from students, staff and alumni highlight the affordable food and strong community Anabel’s provides.
Harry Samuels ’24 wrote in a testimony: “Anabel’s is a shining example of what makes Cornell so special.”
For Uyen Hoang ’25, “Anabel’s is more than just a grocery store—it’s a qualified resource and a bridge to the local food system.” Hoang wrote in a testimony, “Cutting its funding now, at the height of its impact, would be more than just frustrating—it would be a failure to recognize its essential role…it would sever an invaluable connection to our community.”
Executive Director of CTA Prof. Anke Wessels, applied economics and management, and Trisha Bhujle ’26, a former Anabel’s Grocery coordinator, declined to comment.
Correction, February 9, 7:40 p.m.: The article previously incorrectly described how CTA provides support to 35 non-profit organizations.
