This article was produced with the support of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism as part of its 2025 Data Fellowship.

When Maria Guerrero was raising three kids on her own in Lynn, she visited a food pantry about once a month to make sure her family had enough to eat.

But it wasn’t until about three years ago — retired, living with her adult daughter, who has special needs, and facing the spiraling costs of everyday goods — that Guerrero registered for federal food assistance.

“You make $400 or $300 a week. You think you can buy food, pay rent, pay electricity, pay gas, pay all the bills in the house? You can’t afford it,” Guerrero, 77, a retired head cook, said earlier this month, clutching her cane as she sat beside her daughter and son at the Catholic Charities food

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