Funeral Food

In the American South, people used to say that a man’s standing in the community could be judged by the number of plates his widow had to return after his funeral. The bounty of foods spread out for mourners in the South is legendary, fondly chronicled in novels and short stories. As the folk artist Kate Campbell sang in “Funeral Food” in 1998, “We sure eat good when someone dies.” Fried chicken, baked ham, potato salad, deviled eggs, rolls, pound cake, and endless pies filled the home, brought by friends, family, and neighbors.