The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/anabels-grocery/page/2/)
Cornell’s student-run grocery store will be closed for the upcoming semester, but Anabel’s is trying to turn the disruption of the virus into an opportunity.
While adhering to COVID-19 safety regulations, Anabel’s Grocery took to Zoom to host a focus group to see what customers like and need.
My “college cooking” expectations quickly confronted reality during my first few weeks back at school this year. Since the last few months of my freshman year, I planned the big move into my first apartment, as well as built my website, the Collegetown Kitchen. I drew from my knowledge as a home cook, my experience working at a bakery and the advice of many trusted cooks to curate the perfect recipe for college cooking success. I wrote lists of pantry-staple ingredients one can’t do without and what to use them for, named every piece of cooking equipment a student might need, explained basic food safety and published over 3o recipes and articles adapted to a minimalist kitchen and a college budget. And then a couple of days after arriving in Ithaca, mono hit.
On Wednesday, Anabel’s Grocery reopened after closing for the Spring 2019 semester. The grocery now has a membership system, bulk food options and offers mainly plant based foods.
“The Bread n’ Butter Pantry will not be returning to campus as a student organization,” a Bread n’ Butter Facebook post said on Sept. 5.
To keep prices low, Anabel’s is now getting bulk orders of essentials like rice and oats. But by enabling customers to purchase individualized quantities using their own containers rather than in prepackaged bags, the store will help reduce both food and packaging waste.
Anabel’s Grocery — a student-run market founded to address food insecurity on Cornell’s campus — is set to reopen this fall after having spent the past semester trying to “reflect and reassess” the business’ operations.
After running the shop for a year and collecting feedback from customers, the leadership team hopes to improve operations and increase the store’s impact on campus.
Cornell paid for the repairs needed to fix the building’s structural damage that postponed the grocery store’s reopening by a week.
After months of delays leading up to its opening, in its first semester, the store has begun to see real results for its customers, Devon Rosen ’19, programming team member, told The Sun.