Food Insecurity is defined as limited access to food which makes it difficult for a person to lead a healthy life. Even though food insecurity might seem like a far distant problem on a college campus, it affects a large majority of college students. Cornell is an urban food desert, which means that residents within the community have to commute more than a mile to find the nearest supermarket. Even though Cornell hosts several dining halls that operate throughout the day, students don’t have a very viable option of actually cooking food for themselves. Considering that a roundtrip to the nearest supermarket(Wegmans,Tops,Target) takes a about 2 to 3 hours, many students just don’t have the time to venture out of campus to find food. Also, Cornell students have very busy schedules which often leads them to sacrificing meals for their work. This happens most frequently during dinner, when most dining halls close before 8, causing students to spend their BRBs or find other sources of food to compensate for their busy schedules. When students run out of BRB’s they are only left with their meal plan, which also provides students with limited food options considering what kind of plan they have.

Anabel’s grocery store is an up and coming student run grocery store that is going to be located inside Anabel Taylor. The store is going to source local produce and sell it at an affordable price for students. The store’s main goal is to reduce food insecurity around campus by selling healthy food to students at a lower price. The students who are running the store described themselves as activists for the people suffering from food insecurity around campus. As victims of food insecurity themselves, the students want to encourage everyone on campus to have a filling and nutritious diet. As a student who stays on campus during breaks, I am looking forward to having a grocery store that will be open regardless of all the dining halls being closed. Even during the year, I always wish that there was a local grocery store on central from which I could buy snacks and fruits at an affordable price without wasting any of my BRBs. Hopefully, in the next few months, I will be able to go to Anabel’s grocery and buy a lot of delicious and healthy treats.

Last year, when I heard that the student assembly wanted to build a grocery store on campus, I thought they were absolutely crazy and that it would never happen. But much to my surprise, Anabel’s is opening at the beginning of next semester. This store has been born so quickly, and the students who have worked toward this store are so passionate and driven, they really deserve recognition for their hard work.

It seemed to me that the hardest issue the group faced was in convincing Cornell that food insecurity is a legitimate issue on campus. I was surprised at the number of Cornellians who had ever missed a meal due to monetary concerns. I am very excited about this grocery store, mostly because of the close availability of produce, but with its discounted merchandise and availability of subsidy money, this store has the potential to help a lot of people. Anabel’s shows the initiative of some of our student leaders, and is a demonstration of the power students can have on their campuses. We should try to be more aware of issues around us and do what we can to fix them; if you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

This past Monday I attended the Student Activism Series event on Anabel’s Grocery. I had heard about Anabel’s Grocery in the news before attending the event and knew it was supposed to be an alternative to the dining resources on campus, but I was intrigued to learn more. Nicholas, Kary, and Lizzie, the three student members that came to talk that day, presented all the information I could have asked for and I came away great impression of them and the organization. Part of what gave me this great opinion of them was hearing about the story of the program and how much work it had taken to get to where it is today. Nicholas mentioned that when he attended the very first meeting for the group as a first semester freshman he immediately recognized the value of having a low-cost, healthy food option for Cornell students, but had little faith that they would actually be able to see it come to reality. As the organization gained more momentum, however, each member of the group there remembered how they began to become increasingly excited and motivated to push Anabel’s Grocery further. Even though they did run into conflicts with the administration over funding, they continued to work and reach out to students about supporting the idea until it was eventually approved. For me it was just incredibly impressive that Anabel’s Grocery was not only going to happen with all of the work that it takes to start a business like a grocery store, but also it was all student-run and the members were deeply committed to that idea. Overall I think the benefits of having a low-cost grocery store like Anabel’s Grocery are innumerable and will have an enormous positive impact on the quality of life for Cornell students.