Ellis Island Dining Room
The immigrants processed through Ellis Island could be there for days, even months. Inevitably, they would get hungry. By law, Ellis Island officials had to supply food for anyone required to stay for an extended period. They needed a dining hall that could accommodate hundreds of people at a time, and a kitchen that could manage the massive amount of food they had to prepare. A typical menu would include bread, beef stew, stewed prunes, and boiled potatoes. The menu would accommodate some religious requirements. Jewish immigrants received smoked or pickled herring from the kosher kitchen built in 1911. Other days the menu would add stewed prunes, bananas, and even ice cream. Women and children received graham crackers and milk twice a day. There was always plenty of food, but for the immigrants, it wasn’t always a fine dining experience.