Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
> Julia Altshuler wrote on 01 Feb 2006 in rec.food.cooking
>
>
>>(For those of you
>>about to point out that my distinction makes no sense, save your breath.
>> I was aware of it as soon as I wrote it myself.)
>>
>
>
> But it does make sense...You spend the money, the time and decide what
> food. Plus you deliver...All of this might not seem like much, but it does
> lift a small burden off of the berieved. It is 1 less thing they have to
> think about and either order or make, when they might not feel like doing
> such.
>

This is nice if you know how many condolence visitors will come and
you are willing to supply one dish with enough servings for all and
there are enough others to do the same. Otherwise, it would turn into
a potluck affair, not something for a post-funeral meal. Also, some
Jewish people observe kosher laws and some dishes might not be
acceptable. For the Shivah, the period of mourning when more visitors
call and bring gifts of food, someone actually brought a shrimp dish.
It was easy enough to whisk it away and tell her that I would serve
it later, for dinner to the family, but I do not know what I would
have done if that dish had been standing on the table, among all the
Zabar's stuff.

After my husband's funeral, about fifty friends and relatives came
back to my apartment, with at least as many more trickling in later
on. I do not think that anybody could expect others to foot such a
bill, hundreds of dollars, nor think that in the time between the
services at the funeral parlor and the time we came back from the
short trip to the cemetery, services there and the trip back,
everything could have been purchased, arranged on platters (not that I
had that many) and been ready for us. My cleaning lady, Della and
three of my friends worked really hard to have everything ready in
time. While the trays were made up by the store, one of my friends
drove there and picked up everything. She forgot the bagels, all
twelve dozens of them and had to go back for them.