Jessica Higginbotham, second from right,
is thankful she was able to cook dinner for
her five children on Nov. 17. She survived
heart and kidney transplants in 2019; she
and three other members of her family had
COVID-19 this year. The health issues,
paired with her husband Jeremiah’s losing
hours at work, cost the Baytown, Texas,
family most of their life savings. “When itgot really bad with the money, it was either
pay the light bill or have food on the table,”
says Higginbotham, 40.Photograph by Meridith Kohut for TIME▶ For more of our best photography, visit
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