'America's Playground' Is Now The Epicenter Of A Food Desert
Behind the glimmering image of a city built on high-end and excess lies a community where finding something as standard as fresh fruit or a loaf of bread has become a daily struggle.
The city, nicknamed America's Playground, is a seaside escape of flashy gambling establishments, celebrity-chef dining establishments 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 generated $5.8 billion.
But in the shadow of the boardwalk's neon lights, the city's 38,000 citizens face a grim truth: Atlantic City has not had a correct full-service supermarket 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 does not 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 necessary for the city to designate somebody for food insecurity.'
For lots of residents, the basic act of grocery shopping becomes a grueling journey, from bus rides over bridges to costly Ubers, or depending on the kindness of relatives.
'Fresh fruits, fresh veggies, chicken, meats ... you can't truly get that at the corner stores, at the little bodegas, however that's mainly all we have here,' Ori Reyes, a teen who has invested 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 budget-friendly, you do not have much of an alternative, you have to go to other towns.'
Only 13 percent of households in the Atlantic City-Hammonton location own a vehicle, 2021 U.S. Census data programs.
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 gambling establishments
Families currently having a hard time to discover fresh food in Atlantic City state reductions to SNAP benefits could push lots of deeper into cravings
Despite billions flowing through Atlantic City's gambling establishments and traveler restaurants each year, locals 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, salvation comes in the kind of a 40-foot converted bus.
Operated by Virtua Health, the 'Eat Well' mobile grocery shop 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 veggies.
'It's a truly huge blessing for people like me, who can't make it to the market quickly ... you know, for people who can't drive, are older, or have health concerns.'
In 2021, authorities gathered 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 offer collapsed. The operator, Village Super Market, took out after the Casino Redevelopment Investment Authority (CRDA) rejected its ask for aids. 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 grocery store dreams are just delayed, not dead. We continue to strive to find an irreversible solution.'
Advocates alert that looming cuts to federal food assistance (SNAP) could deepen the crisis.
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Community groups and mobile markets are actioning in to offer fruit, vegetables, 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 every week as demand for help continues to grow
'This is hurting single mothers and others throughout the nation 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 just a security web for susceptible homeowners - it's a crucial financial driver and supporting force for whole communities'.
Grassroots groups are filling the spaces. Alicia 'Lisa' Newcomb, head of the nonprofit C.R.O.P.S., has worked with farmers and corner stores to stock healthier choices, even protecting new refrigerators for small grocers.
'Grocery shopping looks various in different neighborhoods,' she informed WHYY.org. 'We dealt with one corner shop to get multiple brand-new refrigerators which owner stated he wanted to be the place where his consumers can get excellent food.'
State officials are also explore imaginative fixes. Tara Colton, primary economic gatekeeper at the NJEDA, points to cooled grocery lockers, comparable to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible design.
'Much like there's no one cause to food insecurity ... there's also not only one option,' Colton told NJ.com.
Meanwhile, the operator of Atlantic City's Save A Lot, Shawn Rinnier, wishes to broaden by 7,000 square feet. 'If we have the ability to pull it off, it 'd be a really nice shop with a lot more variety,' he told NJ.com. 'And I think people here would be truly 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 not-for-profit. who runs the community kitchen, stated demand never ever .
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 busy the entire time,' he informed WHYY.org.
'We will feed people since they are starving. We make no judgment of whether they merit or not. That is what we will continue to do.'
Walmart