Dear NYC Museums,
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved to visit museums with my family. When my parents had off from work, we would make our trek into the city, with destinations such at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Natural History in mind. And why not? Even though we live out in Long Island, the infinite artistic wealth of knowledge and creativity displayed in these museums are just a train ride away, readily available, many even free of charge. My mother would whip up a quick lunch, and we’d head out to the city after eating. The trip was about an hour or two, but by the time we got there, it always felt like longer. There was always that anticipation build-up, and I never had great time perception as a kid.
What I did notice, though, was that we would only spent a few short hours at the museum, which was barely enough time to scratch the surface of the place. It wasn’t because we wanted to leave, I could have wandered around aimlessly for hours, even as a kid. But alas, as soon as meal time rolled around, so did our departure. We would leave the museum, and then begin our hunt for affordable Kosher restaurants nearby.
You see, I am an Orthodox Jew. My family, along with other Jewish families, only eat food that is clearly labeled as “Kosher”. According to Jewish law, Jews can only eat foods fitting certain requirements. Food that is served in the cafeterias in NYC museums do not meet these specific regulations, therefore Jews are not allowed to consume any of it.
The problem isn’t that Kosher food is unavailable in museum cafeterias. It would be unfair to expect that non-Jewish people not partake in the foods that they enjoy, especially with us Jews being a minority group in such a culturally diverse city. I’m not bothered at all by the cafeterias, and don’t believe that museums are responsible to cater to each individual’s dietary restrictions. The real issue, in my opinion, is the policy forbidding outside food from entering NYC museums.
On the FAQ page of the American Museum of Natural History’s website, they say that while no outside food is allowed to be brought into the museum, the food court has “food for every taste”. This statement is simply false, as my religious beliefs prohibit me and my family from consuming anything substantial in their cafeteria.
I do understand that the cafeterias are a large source of income for museums, and that a change in policy would definitely impact the food court’s revenue. Families may decide to skip the heavily overpriced food, and instead pack with them. Bringing food, though, is a major inconvenience to whoever gets stuck carrying it, especially if they are planning on spending multiple hours exploring the museum itself. I would like to argue that even if the outside food ban were to be lifted, people would still be purchasing their meals from the cafeterias. Nobody would voluntarily drag around a bag weighed down with food for multiple hours unless it would be of necessity, whether that necessity be religious or even financial.
Just this past winter, my family was planning on spending a day off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We left early in the morning in order to maximize our time at the museum, because if you’ve ever been to the MET, you’d know that it’s impossible to cover even a fraction of its exhibits in one visit. We decided to pack sandwiches, hide them in our bags, and hope for the best. We arrived at the entrance just as the museum was opening its doors, and jumped in line with the other visitors. Upon reaching security, they shuffled our bags around, and found our lunches. My father explained that we kept Kosher, and there was no other food fit for us to eat inside of the museum. The security guard wasn’t budging, and gave us two options- either to throw the food in the trash, or eat it outside.
We ate our lunch on the steps outside that day, in the freezing cold, at 10am. And then left the museum just a few short hours later.
Miri Lieber
