When was the last time your entire household ate a meal together? Odds are if your family is like many, you are running between school, work, sports, and sitting down for dinner tends to be a low priority project.
While it may seem that as long as we are getting proper nutrition, it doesn’t matter too much about the setting we are eating in. But in reality, eating and connecting over a meal is one of the most fundamental parts of the social science behind food. When we cook and converse over food, our relation to the meal on our plates changes. We find ourselves being intentional with those around us and we make memories related to our food.
Maybe one of your favorite foods is mashed potatoes. Is it because that you think potatoes are the greatest food on the planet? Or is it because mashed potatoes are the favorite side dish at your family’s Thanksgiving meal? Maybe you and your siblings arm wrestle to see who gets the last serving. Maybe you help grandma peel the potatoes and it’s a time when you get to have deep conversations with her.
Eating is one of the most unifying experiences we get to have as humans. All people eat and everyone has a favorite food. By sharing these moments together, we get to embark on this great social connection of meal time.
We challenge you to make family meal time a priority in the weeks to come. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, find time to make memories together at the table.
