Wendt Center

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
DONATE TODAY!
Client Payments

To become a client, please call: 202.204.5021

  • About Us
    • Our History
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Annual Report
    • 990s
  • Our Services
    • Training Institute
  • Donate
    • Giving Tuesday
    • Donate Now!
    • Ways to Give
    • Corporate Giving
    • Major Funders
    • In-Kind Donors
  • Get Involved
    • Annual Benefit
    • Employment Opportunities and Internships
    • Volunteer
  • Resources
    • Covid-19
    • Community Resources
    • On The Web
    • In Print
    • For Professionals
  • About Grief
  • About Trauma
  • Newsroom
  • Client Payments

D.C. Restaurant Pros Unveil What Cultures Around The World Eat When Someone Dies

December 13, 2018

By Laura Hayes
Full Article Here.

Wendt Center Executive Director, Michelle Palmer, lends her expertise to shed light on why food plays such a critical role in grieving and mourning customs around the world and across cultures.
Photo of Mandu’s banchan (or panchan) by Darrow Montgomery

Photo of Mandu’s banchan (or panchan) by Darrow Montgomery

Chances are good that you already know what food will be served at your funeral. That’s because there’s comfort in the familiarity of passed-down traditions. The presence of specific foods and drinks is the common denominator at wakes and funerals across various cultures.

There’s a somewhat scientific reason why food plays an integral role in the mourning process. According to Michelle Palmer, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and the executive director of D.C.’s Wendt Center for Loss and Healing, the acute phase of grief significantly disrupts regular eating habits, and lasts up to three months. 

While some overeat to fill what feels like a void, Palmer says others experience a significant loss of appetite. “Either they have GI upset so their stomach is sour and food sounds unappetizing, or their grief fills all the way to the top of their throat and the thought of swallowing feels impossible,” she says.

“The nervous system is over-activated,” Palmer continues. “There’s adrenaline and cortisol, like being in a fight-or-flight situation. If you think about when there’s adrenaline running through your system, the last thing you want to do is eat.” Palmer believes the meals that follow funerals are about coaxing the grief-stricken into eating. 

Click to continue reading the full article.

Address for Donations:
P.O. Box 45924
Baltimore, MD 21297-5924

Office Locations:
4201 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: 202.624.0010
Fax: 202.624.0062

2041 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE, Suite 234
Washington, DC 20020
Tel: 202.610.0066
Fax: 202.610.0669

MAKE A DONATION TODAY!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Client payments

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Catalogue for Philanthropy
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Guide Star Platinum Participant
 

© 2021 Wendt Center · All Rights Reserved · Website Policies
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.