Food will no longer be served at funeral homes in Lancaster County, according to a recent federal appeals court ruling.

The food ban is among a list of operating laws for Pennsylvania funeral directors that were reinstated by the recent U.S. Third Circuit Court ruling.

Those operating laws were overthrown in 2012, when a federal district judge deemed the decades-old laws unconstitutional.

The appeal court’s recent ruling, however, erases that decision regarding all but one provision: funeral homes can continue to use fictitious names in their titles.

“We’re back to the old laws,” said Melanie Scheid, operator of the Gundel Chapel in Conestoga. “It didn’t affect me at all. I think the emphasis should be more on keeping consumers safe than worrying about serving food.”

Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home, which has three locations, jumped at the opportunity to serve food, following Judge John E. Jones III’s ruling in 2012.

Chad Snyder, a director of the funeral home, said Monday he’s disappointed in the appeals court’s reversal.

He estimated food was requested and provided at 40 to 50 Snyder services since the 2012 ruling.

“I personally think food and funerals go hand-in-hand,” he said. “Just like weddings and food go hand-in-hand.”

He said providing food is merely an extension of good customer service.

“It was convenient, very complimentary and provided a sense of comfort and togetherness to the families,” he said.

The food ban was originally enacted in 1952 out of safety concerns.

However, Snyder claims, if done right, there is no risk to families who choose to eat at services.

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“Every hospital has a cafeteria, don’t they?” he said.

Jeremy DeBord, a general manager of Lancaster city-based Kearney A. Snyder Funeral Home, said he never seriously considered serving food after the 2012 decision.

“We take the stance that we’ll let restaurants do what they do best,” DeBord said on Monday. “There are better places to have food than a funeral home.”

Also, DeBord said he feared an eventual reversal of the 2012 decision.

DeBord noted that some of the old operating laws are “arguably outdated.”

“(Food) was the least of our concerns,” he said. “There are other things more important than serving cheesecake” at a funeral.

Jones III’s decision in 2012 followed a suit by York County funeral director Ernest Heffner and more than 30 other plaintiffs seeking to overturn governing statutes.

Among the preexisting statutes also reinstated by the appeals court were:

• The allowance of random inspections.

• The prohibition of a director supervising more than one location.

• The prohibition of paying commissions to employees.

The allowance of fictitious names was the only of Jones III’s changes that still stands after the appeals court decision.

Previously, funeral homes had to be named after the person in charge or the person who established the parlor.