A student-run, non-profit store called Anabel’s Grocery offers fresh, local food at subsidized prices on the Cornell University campus. It was developed in response to food insecurity issues among students, founded by two former students. They secured grant funding to renovate a former campus library space. Now, the grocery is a learning lab for involved students, who must take Applied Economics & Management 3385: Social Entrepreneurship Practicum: Anabel’s Grocery to work there.
And shoppers really save. “We started out the semester with 19 cent eggs, which is already unheard of in this country,” Matthew Livingston ’26, part of Anabel’s marketing and fundraising team, told The Cornell Daily Sun. “And then recently our subsidy fund allowed us to drop that down to 15 cents. That’s wild to me. An egg for 15 cents, and that’s your breakfast right there.”
After pivoting to include online offerings such as cooking classes and an online ordering system during the pandemic, Anabel’s then reopened. They began accepting SNAP/EBT credits in-house, reported the paper, to help students experiencing food insecurity. Anabel’s also started up an anti-racist action fund to sponsor student organizations hosting projects or events to help create a more equitable campus environment.
Read more about Anabel’s evolution and current offerings here.
