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

Behind the glimmering image of a city developed on luxury and excess lies a community where finding something as basic as fresh fruit or a loaf of bread has ended up being a daily struggle.


The city, nicknamed America's Playground, is a seaside escape of flashy gambling establishments, celebrity-chef restaurants and endless buffets that drew 24 million tourists in 2024, according to the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism. In 2015 alone, gambling operators raked in $5.8 billion.


But in the shadow of the boardwalk's neon lights, the city's 38,000 residents deal with a grim truth: Atlantic City has actually not had an appropriate 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 doesn't have a supermarket and that's unacceptable,' Mike Suleiman of South Jersey Forward, a regional think tank that studied food insecurity in the area, told WHYY.org. 'It is essential for the city to designate somebody for food insecurity.'


For lots of citizens, the easy act of grocery shopping turns into an intense journey, from bus trips over bridges to costly Ubers, or counting on the compassion of relatives.


'Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, chicken, meats ... you can't really get that at the corner shops, at the little bodegas, however that's mainly all we have here,' Ori Reyes, a teen who has actually invested 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 affordable, 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 area own a car, 2021 U.S. Census information shows.


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


Atlantic City is referred to as America's Playground with its beaches, fairground trips and gambling establishments


Families currently having a hard time to discover fresh food in Atlantic City state decreases to SNAP benefits might press lots of deeper into cravings


Despite billions streaming through Atlantic City's casinos and tourist restaurants each year, homeowners state 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 housing complex, salvation comes in the type of a 40-foot modified bus.


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


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


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


In 2021, authorities gathered for a victorious groundbreaking of an $18.7 million ShopRite supermarket 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) declined its ask for aids. Residents were left blindsided.


'Not having a grocery store after telling homeowners there would be one is devastating,' Mayor Marty Small Sr. informed NJ.com. 'But our supermarket dreams are just postponed, not dead. We continue to strive to discover a permanent service.'


Advocates warn that looming cuts to federal food support (SNAP) might deepen the crisis.


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Community groups and mobile markets are actioning in to supply fruit, veggies, 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 weekly as need for aid continues to grow


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


The Washington-based Food Research & Action Center has actually likewise sounded alarms, writing: 'SNAP is not simply a security net for vulnerable residents - it's a crucial financial driver and stabilizing force for whole communities'.


Grassroots groups are filling the gaps. Alicia 'Lisa' Newcomb, head of the nonprofit C.R.O.P.S., has worked with farmers and corner stores to equip much healthier alternatives, even protecting brand-new fridges for small grocers.


'Grocery shopping looks different in different neighborhoods,' she told WHYY.org. 'We worked with one corner shop to get numerous brand-new fridges which owner said he wished to be the place where his clients can get excellent food.'


State authorities are likewise experimenting with innovative fixes. Tara Colton, chief financial security officer at the NJEDA, points to cooled grocery lockers, similar to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible design.


'Much 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, intends to expand by 7,000 square feet. 'If we have the ability to pull it off, it 'd be a really great shop with a lot more range,' he informed NJ.com. 'And I believe people here would be actually pleased with it.'


At Sister Jean's Kitchen, the truth appears. Dozens line up daily for meals. Reverend John Scotland, the executive director of the not-for-profit. who runs the neighborhood kitchen area, stated need never disappears.


All the fun of 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 hectic the whole time,' he informed WHYY.org.


'We will feed individuals due to the fact that they are starving. We make no judgment of whether they are worthy or not. That is what we will continue to do.'


Walmart