Kitchen Supplies
Along with mattresses, tarpaulin, and blankets, some of the most important items that the Joads (and migrant families like them) brought on the road were kitchen supplies. In Grapes of Wrath, Ma tells Rose of Sharon what to pack in the jalopy: "The bucket...All the stuff to eat with: plates an' the cups, the spoons an' knives an' forks. Put all them in that drawer, an' take the drawer. The big fry pan an' the big stew kettle, the coffee pot" (107). Migrant workers needed to pack their whole lives away into their vehicles, and food supplies were needed to help sustain the family on their way to find work.Of course, many things were left behind, and as Ma says, "Don't do no good to take little stuff. You can cook little stuff in a big kettle, but you can't cook big stuff in a little pot" (107-108). Migrant workers took what they needed in order to survive with them and left the rest behind before making their journeys West.
As we see in the photographs, meals were eaten in a variety of places. If families were still on their way to California, they ate meals on the road or off highways, using tarpaulin or blankets as a make-shift table. If families were able to secure places in community camps, they could enjoy meals in a more typical fashion on tables in covered areas. In making do with what they had with them, sometimes families did not eat on plates. Tin plates, metal bowls, pans, and pots were sturdy and easier to travel with than ceramic plateware. Because of this and because of the limited supplies they brought with them, migrant workers ate out of the dishes in which the food was cooked.