In the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, few areas suffered more than California's Central Valley, where recession and a three-year drought combined into a perfect storm of hardship. In some communities, joblessness soared past 40% and more than 40 homes a day were lost to foreclosure. Thousands of acres of farmland sat idle for lack of water, and dust storms brewed where tomatoes and cotton once grew. As the crisis deepened, hunger and homelessness boomed, resulting in a depth of poverty unseen in California since the days of the Dust Bowl. |