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

Behind the glimmering picture of a city constructed on high-end and excess lies a neighborhood where finding something as standard as fresh fruit or a loaf of bread has actually ended up being an everyday battle.


The city, nicknamed America's Playground, is a seaside escape of glitzy casinos, celebrity-chef dining establishments and unlimited 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 locals deal with a grim truth: Atlantic City has not had an appropriate full-service supermarket in nearly 28 years, and it now ranks as New Jersey's second-worst food desert, according to a 2022 state research study by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.


'Atlantic City does not have a supermarket which's unacceptable,' 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 lots of citizens, the basic act of grocery shopping turns into a grueling journey, from bus rides over bridges to pricey Ubers, or relying on the of loved ones.


'Fresh fruits, fresh veggies, chicken, meats ... you can't really get that at the corner stores, at the little bodegas, however that's mostly all we have here,' Ori Reyes, a teenager who has actually spent 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 cost effective, you don't have much of an alternative, you need to go to other towns.'


Only 13 percent of homes in the Atlantic City-Hammonton location own a car, 2021 U.S. Census data 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 trips and gambling establishments


Families currently struggling to find fresh food in Atlantic City state decreases to SNAP benefits could push many much deeper into cravings


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


For citizens like Rosetta Butler, a 58-year-old who lives in the Atlantic Marina real estate complex, redemption comes in the kind 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, displaying a bag filled with bread, peanut butter, and veggies.


'It's a really big true blessing for individuals like me, who can't make it to the marketplace easily ... you know, for people 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 deal collapsed. The operator, Village Super Market, took out after the Casino Redevelopment Investment Authority (CRDA) declined its ask for subsidies. Residents were left blindsided.


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


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, veggies, and dairy to having a hard time 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 each week as need for help continues to grow


'This is injuring single moms 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 safety net for vulnerable locals - it's an important economic driver 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 dealt with farmers and corner shops to equip healthier choices, even securing new refrigerators for little grocers.


'Grocery shopping looks different in different areas,' she informed WHYY.org. 'We dealt with one corner store to get several brand-new refrigerators and that owner stated he wished to be the place where his customers can get excellent food.'


State officials are likewise exploring with innovative fixes. Tara Colton, primary economic security officer at the NJEDA, indicates cooled grocery lockers, comparable to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible design.


'Similar to there's nobody cause to food insecurity ... there's likewise not only one option,' Colton informed NJ.com.


Meanwhile, the operator of Atlantic City's Save A Lot, Shawn Rinnier, intends to broaden by 7,000 square feet. 'If we have the ability to pull it off, it 'd be a truly good shop with a lot more variety,' he told NJ.com. 'And I think individuals here would be really 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 cooking area, stated need never ever 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 3 hours a day and we're hectic the whole time,' he informed WHYY.org.


'We will feed people due to the fact that 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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