Initially Trans-Atlantic liner steerage passengers brought their own food with them for the voyage and consumed it in the berth where they slept. Around the turn of the century competition and advances in technology between liners such as White Star, Cunard, Hamburg America and Norddeutscher Lloyd resulted in bigger, faster, and more luxurious liners. For steerage/third class passengers who made up the bulk of the business, liners began providing meals and dining saloons with their ticket. Due to notoriety of her sinking on her maiden voyage Titanic is often mistakenly credited with being the first or near the first in a number of categories including providing meals to third class passenger. Although she did serve meals and have a dining space for third class/steerage passengers, her sister ship, RMS Olympic which was built first and which was nearly identical to Titanic also served meals and had a dining space for third class passengers. In fact the first ship to come to rescue Titanic’s passengers the RMS Carpathia built in 1903 also served food and had a dining space for third class/steerage passengers as noted in this excellent article : https://www.academia.edu/35011190/Carpathias_Care_for_Titanics_Survivors. Plans from the rival Cunard ship RMS Lusitania built in 1909 also show a third class dining saloon: http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania/deck-plans/d-deck/ This article from the Ladies Home Journal, by Helen C. Candee https://www.gjenvick.com/OceanTravel/Provisions/1899-06-HousekeepingOnAnOceanSteamship.html (Who additionally would go on to become a survivor of the Titanic) written in 1899 about an unnamed Atlantic Liner also noted that meals are provided for the feeding of steerage passengers on the ship. With a ship 12 years earlier providing meals and other examples Titanic cannot be considered among the first to provide meals and a dining space for third class. Olympic and Titanic were however the first to do it well. Their main competitors the Cunard liners RMS Lusitania and Mauretania were noted for their speed. They were powered by revolutionary turbine engines which allowed them to set records for crossing the Atlantic. Unfortunately, the new engines and sleek design of the ships also caused a lot of vibrations and resulted in an unpleasant crossing for passengers. Contrary to popular myth Titanic was not designed or intended to compete with the Cunard vessels in speed. Instead her and Olympic were designed to be larger and wider which provided a smoother ride for passengers. They were also designed to have more luxuries and most importantly better food. Some of the luxuries included unheard of facilities such as a swimming pool, cafes, and a restaurant, for first class passengers. Second class passengers had the use of smoking rooms, a library and surroundings that were said to rival first class on other liners. Third class passengers had the use of a nicely decorated smoking room, a piano their own dining space and food such as fresh bread, roast beef and cheese. Although Titanic and Olympic were not the first to provide meals or a meal space to third class passengers, they did do a better job of it then their contemporaries. I have also included some other links for your reference. https://www.chriscunard.com/history-fleet/cunard-fleet/1900-1930/carpathia/ https://rmstitanichotel.co.uk/blog/who-ate-what-on-board-titanic-meals-from-titanics-1st-2nd-3rd-classes/# https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z8mpfg8/articles/zkg9dxs https://www.gjenvick.com/OceanTravel/Provisions/1901-06-29-ProvisioningATransatlanticLiner.html https://www.gjenvick.com/OceanTravel/Provisions/Feeding3500PeopleOnTheOlympic-1921-04.html