Oh For Pete's Sake, is a story I'm writing.
Characters;

Evangaline Anastasia Porter Hanson ...called Evie
Lars Harold Hanson...called Hap
their daughter; Inga
their son; Peter

Neighbors; Sue Apperton {husband Ben is gone]
Children;
Ben 10
Clora 8
Sandra 6
Zander 4
Jane 2

Economic depression has claimed the United States, and retired Evie and Hap are struggling to keep them selves alive.

#1
Evie shoved the #12 Griswold roughly against the top of the fireplace insert. The large skillet hanging over the narrow shelf that was her cooking surface. Beads of sweat tickeled at her temple, and the heat from the insert made an already miserable day, feel more uncomfortable.

"How am I going to feed five children?' she whispered softly, no one was there to listen. or comment. It was her despair talking, panic at their situtation.

Hap, had the children lined up on the back porch. They were washing up,
getting ready for lunch. The children were like baby ghosts. They made no sound, each working with each other to make certain they were as clean as they needed to be.

Hap shook his head slightly. Looking at the thin, hunched over neighbor children, he couldn't help but compare them to Inga and Peter. Evie had raised their children to be happy, healthy. A boisterous confident son and daughter. So different from the youngsters walking to the table.

Evie added the last dab of butter and a lump of bacon fat to the warmed skillet. It went skittering across the pan, a slight sizzling sound in the worn down day. When the grease was well melted, she threw a handful of flour in the pan and stirred rapidly. Adding cups of double, watery reconstituted milk, she stirred the gravy.

Gravy over re-heated rice. The rice was ready; it was starting to stick, and she moved it to the far edge of the cooktop.

"Com'on everyone," she called, and nearly stepped on the littlest child, Jane, as she turned around to see where every one was at.

It reminded her of the chapter in Oliver Twist where the children lined up with their bowls. But, this wasn't a story. It was real.

Grabbing a slotted spoon, she dished out a spoonful of rice and topped it with a dipper of thickened brown gravy. Jane's dish wobbled a bit, but Clora was right there to steady the old aluminum pie plate. Evie gave each child as much as she thought they might eat.

Admonishing them softly, she said, "You may have more.' but her heart was heavy. There would not be much for seconds.
She added a double scoop of rice and gravy to Hap's plate, and a smaller spoonful to her own plate.

In a small bowl, she scraped the last of the rice and gravy from the pans. Her spatula had been so busy, there wasn't any gravy residue to color the cup of warmed water she put in the pan to clean the lunch.