'America's Playground' Is Now The Epicenter Of A Food Desert

Behind the glimmering image of a city constructed on high-end and excess lies a community where finding something as fundamental as fresh fruit or a loaf of bread has become an everyday struggle.


The city, nicknamed America's Playground, is a seaside escape of flashy gambling establishments, celebrity-chef dining establishments and endless buffets that drew 24 million tourists in 2024, according to the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism. Last year alone, betting operators raked in $5.8 billion.


But in the shadow of the boardwalk's neon lights, the city's 38,000 citizens face a grim reality: Atlantic City has not had an appropriate full-service grocery store in almost 28 years, and it now ranks as New Jersey's second-worst food desert, according to a 2022 state study by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.


'Atlantic City doesn't have a supermarket and that's inappropriate,' Mike Suleiman of South Jersey Forward, a regional think tank that studied food insecurity in the location, told WHYY.org. 'It is very important for the city to designate someone for food insecurity.'


For numerous locals, the easy act of grocery shopping turns into a difficult journey, from bus rides over bridges to expensive Ubers, or depending on the generosity of relatives.


'Fresh fruits, fresh veggies, chicken, meats ... you can't really get that at the corner stores, at the little bodegas, but that's mostly all we have here,' Ori Reyes, a teen who has actually spent her life making the 18-mile trek with her family to a Walmart in Egg Harbor Township, informed NJ.com.


'Usually, to discover healthy food that's budget friendly, you don't have much of an option, you have to go to other towns.'


Only 13 percent of households in the Atlantic City-Hammonton location own a vehicle, 2021 U.S. Census information shows.


Food insecurity has actually left Atlantic City ranked among the worst food deserts in New Jersey


Atlantic City is called America's Playground with its beaches, fairground rides and casinos


Families currently having a hard time to discover fresh food in Atlantic City say decreases to SNAP advantages could press lots of deeper into hunger


Despite billions flowing through Atlantic City's gambling establishments and traveler dining establishments each year, citizens say they can't even buy fresh groceries in their own city


For homeowners like Rosetta Butler, a 58-year-old who resides in the Atlantic Marina real estate complex, redemption can be found in the form of a 40-foot converted bus.


Operated by Virtua Health, the 'Eat Well' mobile grocery store pulls into her block on Fridays.


'This right here, it's a blessing,' she informed NJ.com, displaying a bag filled with bread, peanut butter, and veggies.


'It's a really big blessing for individuals like me, who can't make it to the market easily ... you know, for who can't drive, are older, or have health issues.'


In 2021, authorities collected for a triumphant groundbreaking of an $18.7 million ShopRite grocery store at Baltic and Indiana Avenues. Governor Phil Murphy hailed it as a turning point.


But within a year, the offer collapsed. The operator, Village Super Market, pulled out after the Casino Redevelopment Investment Authority (CRDA) rejected its ask for aids. Residents were left blindsided.


'Not having a supermarket after telling locals there would be one is ravaging,' Mayor Marty Small Sr. informed NJ.com. 'But our supermarket dreams are simply postponed, not dead. We continue to make every effort to find a permanent option.'


Advocates alert that looming cuts to federal food assistance (SNAP) could deepen the crisis.


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Community groups and mobile markets are stepping in to provide fruit, vegetables, and dairy to struggling families (Pictured: Event offering social services to homeless veterans at All Wars Memorial Building, in Atlantic City Wednesday May 17, 2017)


Nonprofits and churches are feeding hundreds weekly as need for assistance continues to grow


'This is hurting single mothers and others across the country and in pockets of New Jersey, it's going to be really bad,' U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman told NJ. com.


The Washington-based Food Research & Action Center has also sounded alarms, writing: 'SNAP is not simply a security internet for vulnerable locals - it's a critical economic motorist and supporting force for whole communities'.


Grassroots groups are filling the gaps. Alicia 'Lisa' Newcomb, head of the not-for-profit C.R.O.P.S., has actually worked with farmers and corner shops to equip healthier alternatives, even securing new refrigerators for little grocers.


'Grocery shopping looks various in various communities,' she told WHYY.org. 'We dealt with one corner store to get several new fridges and that owner stated he wished to be the location where his consumers can get good food.'


State officials are also exploring with imaginative fixes. Tara Colton, chief economic security officer at the NJEDA, points to refrigerated grocery lockers, similar to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible design.


'Just like there's no one cause to food insecurity ... there's likewise not only one solution,' Colton told NJ.com.


Meanwhile, the operator of Atlantic City's Save A Lot, Shawn Rinnier, wants to broaden by 7,000 square feet. 'If we're able to pull it off, it 'd be a really great shop with a lot more range,' he informed NJ.com. 'And I think individuals here would be actually pleased with it.'


At Sister Jean's Kitchen, the reality appears. Dozens line up daily for meals. Reverend John Scotland, the executive director of the nonprofit. who runs the community kitchen area, stated demand never disappears.


All the enjoyable of Atlantic City's boardwalk and piers is seen above


Restaurants on Atlantic City's boardwalk are seen above


'Today, we are open three days a week for three hours a day and we're hectic the entire time,' he told WHYY.org.


'We will feed people because they are starving. We make no judgment of whether they are worthwhile or not. That is what we will continue to do.'


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