'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 neighborhood where finding something as fundamental as fresh fruit or a loaf of bread has actually ended up being a day-to-day battle.


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


But in the shadow of the boardwalk's neon lights, the city's 38,000 citizens deal with a grim reality: Atlantic City has not had a correct full-service supermarket 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 grocery store and that's inappropriate,' Mike Suleiman of South Jersey Forward, a regional think tank that studied food insecurity in the location, informed WHYY.org. 'It's essential for the city to designate someone for food insecurity.'


For many homeowners, the basic act of grocery shopping turns into an intense journey, from bus trips over bridges to expensive Ubers, or relying on the kindness of family members.


'Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, chicken, meats ... you can't actually get that at the corner shops, 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, informed NJ.com.


'Usually, to discover healthy food that's economical, you do not have much of an alternative, you need to go to other towns.'


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


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


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


Families currently struggling to find fresh food in Atlantic City say reductions to SNAP advantages could push lots of deeper into hunger


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


For locals like Rosetta Butler, a 58-year-old who resides in the Atlantic Marina housing complex, redemption can be found in the kind of a 40-foot converted 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 veggies.


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


In 2021, officials gathered for a victorious 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 . The operator, Village Super Market, pulled out after the Casino Redevelopment Investment Authority (CRDA) declined its ask for subsidies. Residents were left blindsided.


'Not having a grocery store after telling residents there would be one is ravaging,' Mayor Marty Small Sr. told NJ.com. 'But our grocery store dreams are simply postponed, not dead. We continue to strive to discover an irreversible solution.'


Advocates caution that looming cuts to federal food assistance (SNAP) might deepen the crisis.


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Community groups and mobile markets are stepping in to supply 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 demand for aid continues to grow


'This is injuring single mothers and others across 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 likewise sounded alarms, writing: 'SNAP is not simply a safeguard for susceptible locals - it's a crucial economic chauffeur and supporting force for entire neighborhoods'.


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 shops to equip much healthier alternatives, even protecting brand-new fridges for small grocers.


'Grocery shopping looks various in various neighborhoods,' she told WHYY.org. 'We dealt with one corner store to get numerous new refrigerators which owner stated he wished to be the place where his customers can get excellent food.'


State officials are also explore innovative repairs. Tara Colton, chief economic gatekeeper at the NJEDA, indicates refrigerated grocery lockers, similar to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible design.


'Similar to there's no one cause to food insecurity ... there's likewise not only one service,' 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 have the ability to pull it off, it 'd be a truly nice store with a lot more variety,' he told NJ.com. 'And I think individuals here would be really pleased with it.'


At Sister Jean's Kitchen, the truth is plain. Dozens line up daily for meals. Reverend John Scotland, the executive director of the not-for-profit. who runs the community kitchen, said demand never goes away.


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


'We will feed individuals since they are starving. We make no judgment of whether they merit or not. That is what we will continue to do.'


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