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

Behind the glimmering picture of a city built on luxury and excess lies a neighborhood where finding something as basic as fresh fruit or a loaf of bread has ended up being a day-to-day struggle.


The city, nicknamed America's Playground, is a seaside escape of flashy casinos, celebrity-chef dining establishments 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 homeowners face a grim truth: Atlantic City has actually not had a proper 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 supermarket which's inappropriate,' Mike Suleiman of South Jersey Forward, a regional think tank that studied food insecurity in the location, informed WHYY.org. 'It's important for the city to designate someone for food insecurity.'


For lots of homeowners, the easy act of grocery shopping turns into a difficult journey, from bus rides over bridges to expensive Ubers, or relying on the kindness of relatives.


'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 spent her life making the 18-mile trek with her household to a Walmart in Egg Harbor Township, informed NJ.com.


'Usually, to find healthy food that's economical, you do not have much of an option, 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 programs.


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


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


Families already struggling to find fresh food in Atlantic City say reductions to SNAP benefits could push many deeper into cravings


Despite billions flowing through Atlantic City's gambling establishments and traveler dining establishments each year, homeowners say they can't even buy fresh groceries in their own city


For citizens like Rosetta Butler, a 58-year-old who resides in the Atlantic Marina real estate complex, salvation comes in the form of a 40-foot modified bus.


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


'This right here, it's a blessing,' she informed NJ.com, displaying a bag filled with bread, peanut butter, and vegetables.


'It's an actually big 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, 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 deal collapsed. The operator, Village Super Market, pulled out after the Casino Redevelopment Investment Authority (CRDA) rejected its demand for aids. Residents were left blindsided.


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


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


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Community groups and mobile markets are stepping 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 help continues to grow


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


The Washington-based Food Research & Action Center has actually likewise sounded alarms, writing: 'SNAP is not just a safeguard for vulnerable homeowners - it's a vital financial chauffeur and supporting force for entire communities'.


Grassroots groups are filling the spaces. Alicia 'Lisa' Newcomb, head of the not-for-profit C.R.O.P.S., has dealt with farmers and corner shops to equip healthier alternatives, even protecting brand-new refrigerators for little grocers.


'Grocery shopping looks various in different areas,' she informed WHYY.org. 'We worked with one corner store to get numerous new refrigerators and that owner stated he wished to be the place where his consumers can get great food.'


State authorities are likewise exploring with innovative repairs. Tara Colton, chief economic security officer at the NJEDA, points to cooled grocery lockers, comparable to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible model.


'Much like there's no one cause to food insecurity ... there's also not only one service,' Colton informed NJ.com.


Meanwhile, the operator of Atlantic City's Save A Lot, Shawn Rinnier, hopes 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 informed NJ.com. 'And I think people here would be really delighted 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 area, 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 three days a week for 3 hours a day and we're hectic the entire time,' he told WHYY.org.


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


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