Funeral Food

In times of loss, the gift of food meets many needs. Grieving families are bombarded with food in the week following their loved one's passing, she once explained-who needs the hassle of having to do the dishes while planning a funeral and trying to navigate probate? Appreciating my mother for the genius she was, I have carried on this tradition myself. Until recently I thought of funeral food as being unique to the South, and a tradition performed purely by women. While writing this piece I was pleasantly surprised to learn that many cultures have funeral food, and, unlike the South, these cultures prepare very specific dishes for those in mourning. What strikes me about this particular tradition is that the food itself is meant to provide compassion as much as help to those who are grieving. The bringing of this food usually occurs in the days immediately following a death, as one's community instantly rallies around them in an effort to make sure they are fed while the rest of their world turns upside down. It would have been the perfect mixture of my parents' traditions-showing love through food during a time of grief.