In 2015, a lottery assigned low-income families from a waitlist to a new subsidized building (NSB) in Chinatown, Boston, Massachusetts. Using a 2019–2020 survey, authors explored associations between housing status of those families (in NSB or being on waitlist) and self-rated physical and mental health; household food insecurity (FI); weekly consumption of fruits/vegetables (FV), weekly consumption of soda, and monthly consumption of fast food. Dietary questions from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) were used in the survey. Logistic and linear regressions explored associations between housing status and outcomes of interest. Models were adjusted for age, sex, Asian background, household size, education, income, employment, and distance to the closest food store. 

Findings: A total of 138 respondents completed the survey (NSB = 36, waitlist = 102). Groups were demographically similar. In terms of self-reported health, most respondents reported good/better physical health (Waitlist: 62%, NSB: 60%) and good/better mental health (Waitlist: 68%, NSB: 74%). FI was prevalent among both waitlist households (63%) and NSB households (56%). FV intake was similar among NSB households (13.5 times/week) compared to waitlist households (12.8 times/week). The NSB group reported similar soda consumption (1.7 times/week) compared to the waitlist group (2.3 times/week), along with similar fast-food consumption (NSB: 2.7 times/month, Waitlist: 3.7 times/month). No statistically significant associations were found between housing status and outcomes of interest after adjusting for covariates.