Hidden behind the shimmering façade of a city known for its luxury and grandeur is a community grappling with the basic challenge of accessing fresh fruit or a loaf of bread daily. 

The city, affectionately known as America’s Playground, boasts a coastal retreat featuring dazzling casinos, renowned chef-owned eateries, and countless buffets, which attracted 24 million visitors in 2024, according to data from the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism. Just last year, gambling venues amassed $5.8 billion in revenue.

Yet, beneath the glitzy boardwalk lights, the city’s 38,000 locals face a harsh truth: Atlantic City has been without a comprehensive supermarket for almost 28 years, and it holds the title of New Jersey’s second-most severe food desert based on a 2022 report by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

‘The absence of a supermarket in Atlantic City is unacceptable,’ Mike Suleiman from South Jersey Forward, an organization examining local food insecurity, remarked to WHYY.org. ‘The city needs to appoint someone focused on tackling food insecurity.’

For numerous residents, the task of buying groceries becomes an arduous expedition involving bus rides over bridges, costly Ubers, or relying on the generosity of friends and family. 

‘You can’t really find fresh produce, meats, or chicken at the small corner stores and bodegas, which is mostly all we have,’ shared Ori Reyes, a youngster accustomed to the 18-mile journey with her family to a Walmart in Egg Harbor Township, as quoted by NJ.com. 

‘Usually, to find healthy food that’s affordable, you don’t have much of an option, you have to go to other towns.’

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

For residents like Rosetta Butler, a 58-year-old who lives in the Atlantic Marina housing complex, salvation comes in the form of a 40-foot converted 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, showing off a bag filled with bread, peanut butter, and vegetables. 

‘It’s a really big blessing for people like me, who can’t make it to the market easily… you know, for people who can’t drive, are older, or have health issues.’

In 2021, officials gathered for a triumphant groundbreaking of an $18.7 million ShopRite supermarket 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 request for subsidies. Residents were left blindsided.

‘Not having a supermarket after telling residents there would be one is devastating,’ Mayor Marty Small Sr. told NJ.com. ‘But our supermarket dreams are just delayed, not dead. We continue to strive to find a permanent solution.’

Advocates warn that looming cuts to federal food assistance (SNAP) could deepen the crisis.

‘This is hurting 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 told NJ. com.

The Washington-based Food Research & Action Center has also sounded alarms, writing: ‘SNAP is not just a safety net for vulnerable residents – it’s a critical economic driver and stabilizing force for entire communities’.

Grassroots groups are filling the gaps. Alicia ‘Lisa’ Newcomb, head of the nonprofit C.R.O.P.S., has worked with farmers and corner stores to stock healthier options, even securing new refrigerators 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 and that owner said he wanted to be the place where his customers can get good food.’

State officials are also experimenting with creative fixes. Tara Colton, chief economic security officer at the NJEDA, points to refrigerated grocery lockers, akin to Amazon pick-up boxes, as a possible model.

‘Just like there’s no one 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, hopes to expand by 7,000 square feet. ‘If we’re able to pull it off, it’d be a really nice store with a lot more variety,’ he told NJ.com. ‘And I think people here would be really happy with it.’

At Sister Jean’s Kitchen, the reality is plain. Dozens line up daily for meals. Reverend John Scotland, the executive director of the nonprofit. who runs the community kitchen, said demand never goes away.

‘Today, we are open three days a week for three hours a day and we’re busy the whole time,’ he told WHYY.org. 

‘We will feed people because they are hungry. We make no judgment of whether they are worthy or not. That is what we will continue to do.’