On hunger and food in the Dark Halls

Here, only darkness hungers

Not long after arriving in the Dark Halls, one might notice that they aren't getting hungry. They won't feel full, but they will always be in the state of 'just killed the hunger with a snack'. Not eating anything doesn't come with any repercussions here. And yet, some decide to eat anyway. Thanks to its scarcity, some food became very valuable. And those that can prepare something edible or even delicious using it could even earn themself a small fortune.

Purpose of food

So, if one doesn't have to eat, why would they do it anyway? There are a few reasons, some practical, some coming from vanity, and some, from fear.

Eating for energy

While hunger is no longer a problem, people still get tired when functioning without sleeping or after working. One can push away the tiredness by eating, especially foods that are nutritious and warm. Food that is already known for giving energy or reducing exhaustion is especially potent within the Dark Halls.
Similarly, food can warm one up when traversing the Halls where colder conditions prevail. This won't replace wearing clothes resistant to low temperatures and wind, but it could help one survive longer in harsh conditions or make the journey a little more enjoyable.

Eating as a luxury

And then, some eat just cause they want. Not feeling hungry isn't a good enough reason to deprive oneself of the pleasures of eating and cooking. And when being presented with a completely new world, with its creatures and produces, there are possibilities of experiencing things one has never felt before.

Food sources

First Halls

Occurrence and supply: Rare and limited
When one gets taken away by the Dark Halls, everything they had on them gets taken too. In some cases, parts of their surroundings and other animals that were too close might also show up in their First Hall. With that, those who might want to get the artifacts of our world, search for those Halls and their possibly valuable content.
When it comes to animals and transporting them through the Dark Halls, one needs to watch out to keep them in the light. While the darkness takes away from humans, it changes the animals instead, turning them into something more adapted to their new environment.

Creatures of the darkness

Occurrence and supply: Common, seemingly unlimited
Creatures living in the Dark Halls, both those born here and animals changed by the darkness can be edible. The only problem is, that discovering which one can be safely eaten or how to prepare their 'meat' is still a case of trial and error, even many years after humans first showed up here. Some societies of the Dark Halls created their recipe books and even bred some of the creatures, though most of them (and their meat) need to be kept in the dark, as their bodies don't survive long exposure to the light.

Feast from the normal world by Revyera

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Eating to remember, eating to not forget

Food is a reminder of the outside. By eating, one defies the nature of the Halls. By eating, they remember about the world they were taken from. About the smells, tastes, sensations, and memories the food brings with itself.
Eating is also a way to check if the Halls didn't take away those things from them. It is mostly easy to check if one has lost a part of their body, and harder to check if they lost a memory. But to check if one lost a taste or a sensation, they need to actively try things that would let them feel them again. After all, how terrifying would it be to get out of the Dark Halls only to discover one's body can't feel hunger anymore or completely forgot how to eat?

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Produces of the Halls

Occurrence and supply: Common, renewable
The inside of the Halls varies a lot. Once in a while, one can encounter one that has some plants or plant-like growths within it that can be harvested and eaten. however, it is important to remember that everything inside the Halls is made out of the things the darkness took away. So even if said plants aren't made out of human body parts, they are made out of something more abstract that someone else lost, and so, consuming it forever deprives them of regaining that thing.