Abstract
Chelsea, Massachusetts, a city of 40,000 people just north of Boston, is among the places in the country hardest hit by Covid-19, both from a health and an economic perspective. Its heavily Latino population is concentrated in sectors of the economy that were shut down when the pandemic hit, and Chelsea residents are also disproportionately likely to be front-line service workers exposed to infection risk. In April 2020, local community organizations and the City of Chelsea responded to the economic crisis facing jobless Chelsea residents by mounting an unprecedented food distribution effort. In September 2020, after five months of running its food distribution sites, the City decided to redirect its efforts toward distributing financial support so that residents could purchase their own food through a program called Chelsea Eats. By combining city general revenue funds, state aid, and philanthropic contributions, the City assembled enough resources to distribute Chelsea Eats cash cards to approximately 2,000 households and to replenish the cards on a monthly basis for a total of six months. The card amounts vary with household size. Most households are receiving $400 per month, but one- and two-person households receive $200 and $300, respectively. The cards can be spent anywhere Visa is accepted. In total, 3,615 households applied for the cards, and 2,074 were chosen to receive the cash assistance cards via a lottery. Outcomes being measured include financial distress, food insecurity, food satisfaction, health (including mental health), school attendance, diet quality, and employment.