The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world in March of 2020. It also changed planning for wakes and memorials. Gone are a lot of the traditional aspects of planning funeral service, memorial, or wake at a funeral home in Chicago, IL. 

While memorials, funerals and wakes might not be like we pictured for the foreseeable future, they are still possible with safety measures and a little creativity. You can still have a wonderful service to honor your lost loved one with catering ideas like these to keep people safe and fed. 

This includes food service at these events. COVID-19 has drastically changed the catering industry in the United States and beyond, so what can you do? 

The bereaved and their guests still need to eat. Luckily, there are several catering trends that are safe for memorials in the time of COVID. Here are a couple of the best options: 

• Food Stations – Food stations have been around for a while, and they aren’t going anywhere. From appetizers and cocktails to ice cream bars, taco stations, and even mashed potato bars, food stations are delicious, easy, and safe. Pre-poured, pre-plated and even mini servings of station foods are ideal for minimizing guest and server contact, especially since they help keep lines moving and spread out the guests for better social distancing. 
  
• Passed Hors D’Oeuvres – While grazing boards, like those with charcuterie spreads, fruits and desserts are classic, they’re not ideal for COVID safety. Luckily, passed hors d’oeuvres are back in style. They allow for masked servers to bring food directly to the bereaved to minimize people unnecessarily touching food. 
  
• Individual Desserts – While large, shared desserts lovely and always will be, more and more people are moving towards décor cakes. Décor cakes are smaller cakes that are placed at each place setting to serve as both decoration and a tasty dessert. The small individual cakes are also better for social distancing. You can also opt for other small desserts like pies, macarons or even donuts. 

These are just a few of the current COVID-friendly catering trends, but there are tons of other ways to keep guests safe when it’s time to eat, including individual serving ware rather than shared serving tools, temperature checks on all employees and outside caterers, mask requirements for employees and caterers, and individual plates rather than family style service. Also, it’s important to note that recent CDC findings suggest that the virus that causes COVID-19 doesn’t grow or live on food or drinking liquids, so handling food or consuming food is generally safe when it comes to transmission. 

Do you want more wake tips or information on cremation services? Cage Memorial Chapel Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc. is here to help. We’re a Chicago, IL funeral home with the experience and compassion necessary to help you plan an honorable, respectful, and memorable memorial for your lost loved one. Stop by and visit us or give us a call today to learn more about what we can do for you in your time of loss or of preplanning.