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

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


The city, nicknamed America's Playground, is a seaside escape of glitzy casinos, celebrity-chef restaurants and limitless buffets that drew 24 million tourists in 2024, according to the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism. Last year alone, betting operators generated $5.8 billion.


But in the shadow of the boardwalk's neon lights, the city's 38,000 residents face a grim reality: Atlantic City has actually not had a correct full-service grocery store in nearly 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 does not have a grocery store and that's unacceptable,' Mike Suleiman of South Jersey Forward, a local think tank that studied food insecurity in the area, told WHYY.org. 'It is essential for the city to designate someone for food insecurity.'


For many locals, the easy act of grocery shopping becomes an intense journey, from bus rides over bridges to expensive Ubers, or depending on the generosity of relatives.


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


'Usually, to find healthy food that's budget friendly, you do not have much of an alternative, you have to go to other towns.'


Only 13 percent of families in the Atlantic City-Hammonton location own a car, 2021 U.S. Census data programs.


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


Atlantic City is known as America's Playground with its beaches, fairground rides and gambling establishments


Families already struggling to find fresh food in Atlantic City state reductions to SNAP advantages might press lots of deeper into cravings


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


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


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


'This right here, it's a godsend,' she told NJ.com, showing off a bag filled with bread, peanut butter, and vegetables.


'It's a truly big for individuals like me, who can't make it to the market quickly ... you know, for individuals who can't drive, are older, or have health concerns.'


In 2021, officials gathered 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 deal collapsed. The operator, Village Super Market, took out after the Casino Redevelopment Investment Authority (CRDA) rejected its request for aids. Residents were left blindsided.


'Not having a supermarket after informing residents there would be one is devastating,' Mayor Marty Small Sr. informed NJ.com. 'But our grocery store dreams are just delayed, not dead. We continue to make every effort to discover an irreversible option.'


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


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Community groups and mobile markets are actioning in to supply fruit, vegetables, and dairy to having a hard time households (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 each week as need for assistance continues to grow


'This is harming single moms and others throughout the country and in pockets of New Jersey, it's going to be very bad,' U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman informed NJ. com.


The Washington-based Food Research & Action Center has actually also sounded alarms, composing: 'SNAP is not simply a safeguard for vulnerable residents - it's a vital financial motorist and stabilizing force for whole communities'.


Grassroots groups are filling the spaces. Alicia 'Lisa' Newcomb, head of the not-for-profit C.R.O.P.S., has actually worked with farmers and corner stores to equip much healthier options, even protecting new refrigerators for small grocers.


'Grocery shopping looks various in different neighborhoods,' she told WHYY.org. 'We dealt with one corner shop to get numerous brand-new fridges and that owner stated he wished to be the place where his customers can get excellent food.'


State authorities are also try out innovative fixes. Tara Colton, chief financial gatekeeper at the NJEDA, points to refrigerated grocery lockers, similar to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible design.


'Just like there's nobody cause to food insecurity ... there's likewise not just one option,' Colton informed NJ.com.


Meanwhile, the operator of Atlantic City's Save A Lot, Shawn Rinnier, wishes to expand 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 told NJ.com. 'And I believe individuals here would be actually happy with it.'


At Sister Jean's Kitchen, the truth appears. Dozens line up daily for meals. Reverend John Scotland, the executive director of the nonprofit. who runs the neighborhood kitchen, said need never ever goes away.


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


Restaurants on Atlantic City's boardwalk are seen above


'Today, we are open 3 days a week for 3 hours a day and we're busy the whole time,' he informed WHYY.org.


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


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