Anabels Grocery: Not Your Typical Grocery Store

By KIRA WALTER Sun Contributor

On Feb. 15, 2023, Ana- bel’s Grocery opened for the first time this year. A student-run nonprofit, Anabel’s concentrates on not only providing affordable groceries to Cornellians, but also building a community around food justice.

Undergrads who are taking or have graduated from AEM 3385 are constantly planning events and starting initiatives that benefit customers. From collaboration with charitable organizations downtown to cooking lessons, there is always more happening here beyond food sales unlike your typical grocery store, making Anabel’s a unique social enterprise on campus. With multiple projects underway, we can only look forward to what the staff is working on for the rest of this semester.

Within the first month of opening, many successes have already been celebrated at Anabel’s. On Mar. 5, the Collaborative Education committee held Toast-A-Thon, a community brunch with Prisoner Express at the Durland Alternatives Library. Prisoner Express is an organization that spreads hope amongst incarcerated people through poetry, art and writing programs. Those who attended sent letters and book packages to those in need while enjoying bread provided by Wide Awake, a local Ithaca bakery centered around sustainability and fostering community.

Another very recent event held by the Anabel’s staff was a cooking demonstration on the afternoon of Saturday, Mar. 11. Taking place at 660 Stewart Avenue, staff members taught attendees how to prepare a vegetable lentil coconut curry using only ingredients sourced from the store. More free demos can be expected in the future. RSVP links to these events are posted on the Anabel’s instagram page.

In addition to lessons, there are other ways to learn cooking skills right within the shop. Weekly recipes are printed out and available to all around the register while they are also posted to the Anabel’s website. From overnight oats to vegan mac and cheese, there is so much to learn while all ingredients are stocked right here.

Also available in the store are weekly meal-kits; bundled produce helps encourage students to incorporate new dishes into their lives while working towards more balanced diets. Brand new meals will be featured each Wednesday.

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