Atlantic City has faced almost 20 years without a grocery store, leaving many residents without easy access to fresh, nutritious food. Transportation challenges further complicate the situation, making local access to healthy food vital. To address this, the Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA) and Communities Revolutionizing Open Public Spaces (CROPS) secured a $500,000 grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) to launch the CROPS Farm Share project.
This initiative creates a scalable pathway of locally grown food from small to midsize farmers and farm cooperatives in Atlantic County, directly to residents of Atlantic City. The goal is to reach customers on food benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (S/FMNP). The two-year pilot program will serve 500 Atlantic City households.
“This project is a game-changer for Atlantic City. We now have a reliable method of providing access to healthy food while supporting our local farmers and strengthening the community,” said Lauren Moore, President of the ACEA. “The lasting impact of this project is to increase the community’s purchasing power of local produce in Atlantic City while supporting Atlantic County’s farmers. By ensuring residents can rely on access to local food, we also ensure that farmers can count on a robust customer base in the Atlantic City community.”
The CROPS Farm Share project connects local farms’ produce directly to consumers in Atlantic City. Customers will buy fresh, nutritious food via a smartphone app and pick it up at various locations in the City. The project is adapted from the successful Fresh Stop Markets Model initiated by New Roots in Louisville, KY. New Roots will consult on the project and app development, ensuring that the CROPS Farm Share project leverages proven strategies for success.
“CROPS is committed to ending food insecurity and advocating for sustainable food systems in South Jersey,” said Alicia Newcomb, Executive Director of CROPS. “We are uniquely positioned as one of the only SNAP, Good Food Bucks authorized farmers’ markets in the county, and the only WIC/S/FMNP authorized farmers’ market in South Jersey. This project will expand our reach to even more residents in need, while helping to ensure viability for one of our state’s most valuable resources: our farmers.”
CROPS will sign up residents of Atlantic City as shareholders who can purchase a Farm Share—a box of locally-grown produce—on a biweekly basis through a smartphone app. Prices will be on a sliding scale based on household economic capacity. CROPS will partner with Atlantic County farmers to deliver a wide variety of produce year-round.
About the Atlantic County Economic Alliance
The Atlantic County Economic Alliance is a private sector-directed, nonprofit economic development corporation that was established in 2017 for business attraction, retention, and marketing efforts in Atlantic County. The ACEA’s core focus areas are building a robust business retention program, marketing competitive assets to drive industry diversification, relationship building to attract new companies, and creating partnerships to recruit, retain, and promote a qualified workforce. Visit www.aceanj.com or call 609-245-0019 for more information.
The Atlantic County Economic Alliance is a private sector-directed, nonprofit economic development corporation that was established in 2017 for business attraction, retention, and marketing efforts in Atlantic County. The ACEA’s core focus areas are building a robust business retention program, marketing competitive assets to drive industry diversification, relationship building to attract new companies, and creating partnerships to recruit, retain, and promote a qualified workforce. Visit www.aceanj.com or call 609-245-0019 for more information.
About CROPS
Communities Revolutionizing Open Public Spaces (CROPS) is an Atlantic City-based nonprofit working to end food insecurity and advocate for sustainable food systems. Their mission is to alleviate food insecurity through empowering healthy, interconnected communities by cultivating fresh produce, ensuring access to nutritious food, providing educational programming, and advocating for sustainable food systems and collaborative solutions.
