48 of 50 States Now Allow Food at Funerals
Last August, we shared the good news that New Jersey had passed a law allowing funeral homes to serve food and drinks. Now Connecticut funeral directors want their legislators to follow in the footsteps of Garden State lawmakers.
Connecticut and Pennsylvania are the only states still holding out. Elsewhere, funeral directors are diversifying with on-premises celebration centers and partnerships with caterers.
Food trucks and banquet halls
Following the New Jersey decision, Geraldine Oliverie “wasted no time to better accommodate guests” of Oliverie Funeral Home in Manchester. She brings in bagels and coffee and stations a local food truck outside during visitations. Oliverie told a New Jersey radio station their new combination banquet hall and sympathy store will be opening in 2020.
Horizon Funeral Homes of Toms River added catering services after the ban was lifted. According to their website, Horizon has “the ability to provide anything from a full sit-down customer-catered meal to simple finger foods.” A downloadable menu offers three tiers of options, priced at $695 to $1,295.
Will Pennsylvania ever join the party?
Connecticut is quietly considering revising its laws to allow catered food and non-alcoholic beverages at funeral homes. The Hartford Courant newspaper reported that several funeral directors testified in February before a public health committee about the proposed change.
Matthew R. Bailey, president of B.C. Bailey Funeral Home, supported the move. The legislation allows those “who wish to provide some hospitality to our client families and their guests to do so.”
Brendan Sullivan of Farley-Sullivan Funeral Homes opposed it. “Think about why you became a funeral director,” Sullivan asked. “Is the funeral business not enough anymore? If you answer no, then you have every opportunity to open a restaurant or purchase a hall to run these catered food events separately.”
During these discussions, Pennsylvania’s Board of Funeral Directors received inquiries about possibly changing their policy. In 2019, a spokesperson told the Philadelphia Inquirer that “the board plans to create regulations to make the policy permanent.” The policy currently doesn’t allow food or beverages other than water where “the professional practice of funeral directing is conducted.” However, it doesn’t prohibit serving food and drink “in a separate hospitality room or lounge where the practice of funeral directing does not occur.”
Funeral potatoes and funeral sandwiches
Funeral foods run the gamut from doughnuts or cookies to three-course meals. However, a few foods have become so synonymous with funerals that the word “funeral” is part of their name.
Many people now refer to a cheesy, buttery hash brown casserole as “funeral potatoes.” Here’s Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond’s decadent version.
And the popularity of these ham-and-cheese sliders at funerals earned them the name “funeral sandwiches” or “funeral rolls.” We found this recipe on the Grilled Cheese Social blog. Enjoy!
