Wednesday, April 01, 2009

April Food Day



















Photo "Migrant Mother" - photographer Dorothea Lange - Wikepedia
"Lange's words" 
I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There she sat in that lean-to tent with her children huddled around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it.







Today is April Food Day and many bloggers are spreading the news to fight hunger by donating a dollar, which can buy seven meals.  As one of "seven" children and a family who worked to build a food business, one of my fondest memories was to take food that we could not sell because it was too ripe or spotty, to the local shelters and to help feed the hungry.  My Mother knew how to stretch a dollar to feed our family, and we were fortunate to have enough food, and to share food, but many do not and are going hungry.  My Father was one of nine and his Mother was another resourceful woman who knew how to make a meal for many with little. 
She worked up to age 93 stocking tomatoes and corn in the market.

Click here and help, a dollar can make a difference.  Thank you to Easy and Elegant and Pigtown Design for rallying the blogging community to make a difference.  The time is now for equality.

23 comments:

Pigtown*Design said...

Thank you for posting. Your support of this project means so much to both Chris and me!

pve design said...

Meg,
We could not have done this without you.
I am carrying an envelope today to spread the word.
PvE

Purple Flowers said...

I will be taking up a collection from my family for this very needy cause. We also make regular contributions to the local food bank where I volunteer.

Leciawp said...

Great post Patricia. xoxo

Anonymous said...

Hi Patricia,

I just posted this quote on Joyce blog but i am going to post it here to!

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?"

a small gesture can really make a diffrence in somebody's life.

Debra said...

Wonderful post and addition to this much needed cause.

Deidra said...

That photo and story always "get to" me. Thanks for a nudge in the right direction today.

Kwana said...

This is such and important cause. Thanks for pointing it out to me Patricia.

heidi said...

wow.... i wonder where those children are now.

Joyce said...

This photo speaks a 1,000 words. Thanks. xoxo

La Maison Fou said...

Wow how uncanny...we both chose the same image for the April Food Day

you know what they say" Great minds"....
Leslie
lamaisonfou blog

jae said...

It's wonderful that everyone is bringing attention to this....I'm off to donate.

Janet said...

What a perfect way to relay the message. I have always loved this image. There are some extraodinary variants of it, including one showing Lange's thumb holding back the flap of the tent.

Unknown said...

I love your post today! I've also tagged you in the interior design challenge over at trustyourstyle.com. Would love to see your choice(s) if you decide to play along.

xo Mary Jo

Julia said...

What a wonderful post. I've seen this image for years and years, but never knew the story behind it! Thank you!

Debra said...

She's really quite beautiful, isn't she?

Anonymous said...

With so much abundance in the United States, I often forget that there are people in our own nation who are hungry. Your post is a gentle reminder, and I think it's wonderful (but not surprising:) that bloggers are pulling together for the cause. (p.s. I happen to live in Nipomo, CA where that photo was taken. There is a huge print of it in our tiny library, and I share a back fence with the 3 year old Dorothea Lange Elementary School).

pve design said...

Thank you to each of you have come today, commented and donated. I am forever thankful.

Tricia said...

Patricia, thank you for this meaningful post. Last year I read an article about one of the young daughters in the photograph by Dorothea Lange. It was very touching - the young girl recounts memories of her mother's struggle to feed the family, and how her life as a child so greatly influenced her life as a mother with children of her own. I will try to track this down and forward you the link.

Tricia said...

Patricia, per my earlier post, here is the link to the CNN interview with the daughter burying her head into her mother's shoulder (the girl on the left): http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/02/dustbowl.photo/ She is now 77.

pve design said...

Tricia,
Thank-you for commenting and tracking down this story. I must admit, as a Mother, the first thought that crossed my mind was where are the children in this incredible photo. A Mother's face says it all. I see her love, her concern and her strength.
pve

Kasey said...

beautiful post and so thoughtful.
xo

ALL THE BEST said...

Patricia, I thought about Lange's famous photo earlier in the week and then saw that you used it for your post. Great minds!