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

Behind the glimmering image of a city built on luxury and excess lies a community where finding something as standard 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 unlimited buffets that drew 24 million travelers 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 locals deal with a grim truth: Atlantic City has actually 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 grocery store which's inappropriate,' Mike Suleiman of South Jersey Forward, a regional think tank that studied food insecurity in the area, informed WHYY.org. 'It is necessary for the city to designate somebody for food insecurity.'


For many homeowners, the simple act of grocery shopping develops into a grueling journey, from bus trips over bridges to pricey Ubers, or relying on the compassion of loved ones.


'Fresh fruits, fresh veggies, chicken, meats ... you can't truly get that at the corner shops, at the little bodegas, but 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 discover healthy food that's economical, you don't have much of an option, you have to go to other towns.'


Only 13 percent of homes in the Atlantic City-Hammonton area own a vehicle, 2021 U.S. Census data shows.


Food insecurity has actually left Atlantic City ranked amongst 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 already having a hard time to discover fresh food in Atlantic City say reductions to SNAP advantages might press numerous deeper into cravings


Despite billions flowing through Atlantic City's gambling establishments and traveler restaurants each year, residents 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 housing complex, redemption comes in the type 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 blessing,' she informed NJ.com, flaunting a bag filled with bread, peanut butter, and vegetables.


'It's an actually huge blessing for individuals like me, who can't make it to the market quickly ... you know, for people who can't drive, are older, or have health problems.'


In 2021, authorities gathered for a victorious groundbreaking of an $18.7 million 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, took out after the Casino Redevelopment Investment Authority (CRDA) declined its request for subsidies. Residents were left blindsided.


'Not having a supermarket after informing citizens there would be one is ravaging,' Mayor Marty Small Sr. informed NJ.com. 'But our grocery store dreams are just postponed, not dead. We continue to aim to find an irreversible service.'


Advocates warn 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 offer fruit, vegetables, and dairy to struggling 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 every week as need for assistance continues to grow


'This is injuring single mothers 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 also sounded alarms, writing: 'SNAP is not simply a security net for susceptible homeowners - it's a vital economic motorist and supporting force for whole neighborhoods'.


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


'Grocery shopping looks different in different neighborhoods,' she told WHYY.org. 'We worked with one corner store to get multiple new refrigerators which owner stated he wanted to be the location where his consumers can get excellent food.'


State officials are likewise exploring with imaginative fixes. Tara Colton, primary financial gatekeeper at the NJEDA, indicates refrigerated grocery lockers, comparable to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible model.


'Just like there's nobody cause to food insecurity ... there's also not only one solution,' Colton told NJ.com.


Meanwhile, the operator of Atlantic City's Save A Lot, Shawn Rinnier, wants to expand by 7,000 square feet. 'If we have the ability to pull it off, it 'd be a really great store with a lot more variety,' he informed NJ.com. 'And I think people here would be really 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 nonprofit. who runs the neighborhood kitchen, said need never ever disappears.


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


'We will feed individuals due to the fact that 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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