By Adam Swift
Senator Ed Markey visited La Colaborativa’s Survival Center on Sixth Street last Friday to highlight efforts to empower immigrant communities and combat food insecurity.
Markey, in collaboration with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, was able to secure more than $1.5 million in federal funding for La Colaborativa.
In addition to Markey, Honduran immigrant and Chelsea resident Brenda Romero spoke about the challenges she and her family have faced since her husband was detained by ICE seven months ago while walking out of a courthouse.
“As the president of La Colaborativa, I am not only excited that (Markey) is here, but also that he is hearing the voices of the community and all of the things we are doing, and also all of the challenges that we are having with the economic crisis, with the fear of immigration, with students not being able to go to school, and with teachers getting laid off because we are not able to pay the bills,” said La Colaborativa President and Executive Director Gladys Vega.
Markey said it was amazing to see the work La Colaborativa does every day, from investing in the community to workforce development to helping provide food security.
The senator noted that he invited Vega to the people’s State of the Union address this year, but that she was unable to make it because of a winter storm.
“Gladys was snowed out, but I read her statement that was viewed by a couple of million people across the country, and it was by far the most powerful, the best statement that was delivered at the people’s State of the Union; not the Trump State of the Union, but the people’s State of the Union,” said Markey.
The message that Markey delivered from Vega, and that he reiterated at La Colaborativa last Friday, was that dark times require a new form of resilience and a new form of deliberate resistance.
“I’m honored to always be a partner in your endeavours and to be partnered with La Colaborativa in this movement for justice, this movement for empowerment which you need here not just in Chelsea, but in Massachusetts,” said Markey.
Markey railed against the policies of the Trump administration, stating that what the president is selling as America First is nothing but a facade for hate.
“The truth of the matter is that his decisions are an elaborate plan to make the rich richer on the back of working class and on the back of working poor families in our state, in Chelsea,” said Markey. “Whether it’s the illegal tariff debacle, a golden ballroom to satiate his ego, legislative efforts to cut access to affordable healthcare, student loans, loan assistance, or housing assistance, Trump’s reckless handling of the country’s economic policies is hurting our working families and our most vulnerable communities are feeling the impact in their lives and livelihood.”
Markey called for the impeachment and removal of Trump while highlighting the negative effects his immigration policies have had on residents in cities like Chelsea.
“Latino households experienced the highest rates of food insecurity during the last six years, with levels reaching 63 percent of families suffering from food insecurity in 2025,” said Markey. “That is a national disgrace in the richest country in the world. I came over (to La Colaborativa) on Nov. 1 as SNAP benefits were being cut; to just see the lines that were circling La Colaborativa to get emergency food which they needed; it was by the hundreds, by the thousands that families were arriving here.”
Romero provided a personal look at the impact of immigration policies under the Trump administration. In addition to the heartbreak of having her husband detained by ICE, she said her family was afraid to go back inside a courtroom to file a restraining order against a person who sexually assaulted her child.
“This has impacted all of us,” said Romero. “I all ask for is an opportunity, just a slight chance that my husband would be able to stay with his family and be supported. There’s no security.”
Earlier this year, Romero testified before the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security in support of the PROTECT Act, which would prevent federal immigration authorities from pursuing civil arrests at courthouses.
Morales spoke about meeting with families every day who are doing all they can to move forward, but still face food insecurity.
“They work, they take care of their children, they show, and still, it is not enough,” said Morales. “Children cannot focus in school because they are hungry, people who are trying to recover from illnesses don’t have the nutrition they need.”
Morales said people and families should not have to face making decisions between food and medicine.
La Colaborativa typically offers food distribution on Wednesdays from 4–7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its food pantry, which is under the bridge across from the Survival Center at 63 Sixth St.
“In addition to our pantry, we offer several other food access programs,” said Natalie Aponte Reyes of La Colaborativa. “Our mobile market, El Verdulero, serves low-income housing communities and schools across Chelsea, Revere, and Everett. We also operate El Mercado, our on-site market, which is available to seniors, pregnant individuals, families with a child under one year old, and individuals with certain health conditions.”
El Mercado is open three times a week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday). To access this program, participants are asked to attend at least one nutrition class through La Colaborativa’s Teaching Kitchen and have at least one visit with its Puente a la Salud clinic for health monitoring, and provide documentation verifying their medical condition, if applicable. Additionally, La Colaborativa provides home delivery services for homebound Chelsea residents.