LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Out of the Dust, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Nature, Survival, and the Dust Bowl
Poverty, Charity, and Community
Coming of Age
Family and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
Everyone gets a huge meal at Billie Jo’s school because the government sends in provisions and some of the local businesses send in bread and milk. The kids all eat and drink until they cannot stomach anymore.
Although they cannot fix everything, the government tries to help the Panhandle in the small ways that it can. This is the only time in the novel where Billie Jo has a surplus of food.