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Each weekday, thousands of people ride Bus 19 through the heart of some of Boston's poorest neighborhoods. Bound for school, bound for work, bound for grocery stores and soup kitchens. As the state and nation struggle to emerge from the depths of recession, a team of Globe reporters and photographers is traveling the route of Bus 19, chronicling the little-known rhythms of life in a part of the city that engages in the struggle each day.
July 17, 2011
At large on a network of need
Iris Soares

Pantries, Bus 19 help give woman a lifeline

Iris Soares is one of the regulars on Bus 19, as it rumbles across a broad swath of Boston - poor and prosperous, but mostly poor. Her day takes her from food pantry to food pantry, as she struggles to feed her family. Disability took her from the workforce years ago; getting by remains her full-time job.
(Billy Baker, Globe Staff)  Graphic The route
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