ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — In this beachfront resort, where $5 billion worth of in-person and online betting gets done each year, there still is not a grocerystore.
People who live in Atlantic City needto either drive off the island to a mainland shop, take public transport — whose expense consumes away at the quantity left for food — or store in expensive, badly equipped corner shops in their own city.
A much-touted, greatly subsidized strategy to develop what would be the city’s initially grocerystore in almost 20 years fell apart previously this year. Now, the state and a medicalfacility system are sendingout a transformed school bus packed with fresh food readilyavailable for purchase into the city as a momentary service.
Virtua Health brought a customized transit bus to a bad area in Atlantic City on Friday as part of its “Eat Well” program, moneyed by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
The program intends to bring high quality food and fresh fruitandvegetables to financially denied locations that absence significant gainaccessto to healthy food. Atlantic City is 2nd on the list of 50 New Jersey neighborhoods created as “food deserts” due to absence of gainaccessto to such food.
Delorese Butley-Whaley, 62, was thrilled to board the bus to buy a half gallon of milk and a loaf of bread for a overall of $3.
She generally strolls 30 to 45 minutes to a regional corner food shop, straining her bad knees, or takes the bus there in bad weathercondition. Sometimes she endeavors to a full-fledged grocerystore on the mainland in Absecon, a $10 taxi trip in each instructions. That rapidly consumes into her food budgetplan.
“We puton’t have a genuine grocerystore here,” she stated. “This is something