Photos: Central Valley town struggles in California’s drought

A tractor works a dried-out parcel west of the Kings River near Stratford, Calif. Stratford, in the state’s Central Valley, is one of many towns in the region that are being sucked dry by the state’s historic drought.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A dust devil kicks up debris as it whirls its way across a parched field on the outskirts of Stratford.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

There is no coffee shop in Stratford; it, along with every other restaurant in town, went out of business years ago. Most mornings a group of farmers get together and drink coffee at the Napa Auto Parts store in the town’s center.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Mahmod Alrihimi’s market used to be the epicenter of town, where one could buy steaks, cold cuts and sandwiches. Now his store’s shelves are mostly bare. His top sellers are beer and sodas, especially at the end of the workday.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

People walk past Hardin’s Grocery and the post office, two of the few businesses still open in Stratford.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Children have few options in Stratford. There is no recreation center or gym, and a basketball court has only recently been put up -- in an abandoned building. Crime is high and there are gangs in town, according to the Kings County Sheriff’s Department.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

The small farm town of Stratford, in California’s Central Valley, is one of the many in the region that are being sucked dry by the state’s historic drought.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

People line up outside a family resource center in Stratford to receive emergency food due to drought hardship. The city had a population of 1,277 as of the 2010 census, but many current residents think that number is far lower now.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

The emergency food giveaway happens once a month in communities hit especially hard by the ongoing drought.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A woman waits for a ride with two boxes of emergency rations, given away because of the drought.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Dairy farms have been closing down throughout the Stratford area as a result of the drought and soaring water costs. This dairy farm, currently for sale, sits just outside of town.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A dairy farm office sits abandoned and covered in cobwebs outside of Stratford.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A resident sits in a largely empty downtown. Going into the fourth year of drought, farmers have pumped so much water that the water table below Stratford fell 100 feet in two years.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Mahmod “Kenny” Alrihimi, from Yemen, has been in business in Stratford for more than 20 years and has never seen the economy this bad. He keeps running tabs on scraps of paper for the majority of his customers.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Mahmod “Kenny” Alrihimi, from Yemen, has run Hardin’s Grocery for 24 years. He fears for the future of his son Sufian, 7, right.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

In Stratford -- where the school has had some of the same teachers for 40 years, the auto parts store doubles as a coffeehouse and first names change but last names don’t -- survival isn’t a given.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A dilapidated building that once housed a bank was converted recently into a basketball court.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

The roof and one of the walls of a former bank collapsed recently, allowing the space to be converted into a basketball court.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Zamzami Alrihimi, 9, is the son of Mahmod “Kenny” Alrihimi, who runs Hardin’s Grocery in town. His inventory has shrunk, and most of his customers buy their goods on credit.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)