The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than $3.2 million to repay Chelsea for the food it delivered to residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, closing out a claim the city had been appealing and had warned could cost it about $1.3 million in reserves.
FEMA announced the award on October 22 through its Public Assistance program, which reimburses cities for emergency costs. The agency’s release says the money covers “emergency protective measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus”: a home food delivery service for high-risk elderly and disabled residents and for people with suspected or confirmed COVID, and a series of pop-up food pantries for at-risk residents.
A claim the city had to appeal
The reimbursement did not come easily. In December 2025, City Manager Fidel Maltez told the City Council that the city had filed a second appeal with FEMA for its pandemic food distribution costs, working with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and that the state was advocating for Chelsea.
In March, Maltez listed a possible FEMA denial among the big costs facing the city’s free cash, its main reserve fund. “We are afraid that FEMA might deny our second appeal for COVID-19 food distribution costs,” he wrote. “If the second appeal is denied, we will need to cover these costs from Free Cash, which are approximately $1.3 Million.” The ledger attached to that letter carried a projected “FEMA Deficit” of $1,264,011.85 among the year’s draws, alongside a $1.5 million snow deficit and $2.5 million to balance the budget. With all of them, the city projected free cash would fall from $32.4 million to about $5.3 million.
FEMA’s release gives only the total award. It does not say how much of the $3.2 million covers costs the city had already been paid for, or how much of it reaches the city’s own reserves.
What the city says
Maltez told the Chelsea Record the award lifts a weight off the city as it faces a multimillion-dollar school budget gap next year. “This is money that already went out the door, already supported residents and it was at a time when Chelsea had no other choice,” he said.