Let’s Make Family Meals Month a Year-Round Event

National Family Meals Month is officially celebrated in September. Headed up by the FMI Foundation, the “holiday” began as a movement to help bring families together to share a meal at least once a month. (After all, with the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s hard to get everybody together in one place — at the same time — for a family meal.)

At Food Town, we believe most of the best stuff happens around the family table. In fact, studies have shown that, when families eat together, the food they eat tends to have a higher nutritional value. Not only that, but they also develop a closer connection with one another. For those reasons — and so many more — we’re on a mission to encourage families to gather ‘round for meals together all year long. 

Here are a few simple ways you can encourage your family to participate in and enjoy meals together:

1. Find recipes that are fun and easy — and let the kids cook. Little hands love to help, and they’ll be thrilled to get involved in recipes that are fun to make and enticing to eat.
2. Encourage the family to expand their palates by trying new foods from the international aisle. Make a list of different foods and/or recipes that your family hasn’t tried, and then go down the list until you’ve made them all. Making mealtime an adventure is a fun way to interact together and experience new things through food. It’s a great conversation starter, too!
3. Allow your children to pick items they’re interested in at your local Houston grocery store. Including them in the decision-making process will help them feel included in meal preparation (and also give them a stake in eating what they picked out). This often eliminates some of the challenges associated with kids not wanting to eat what you’ve made. (Remember, they chose it!)
4. Combine an adult-picked meal and a kid-picked meal, and then have everybody eat some of both. This is a fun way to not only introduce children to meals that have a more adult taste, but have the parents participate in trying kid-approved recipes that they may be surprised to enjoy as well.

While it’s great to celebrate National Family Meals Month in September, this is one holiday that has real staying power. We hope these tips give your family some inspiration on ways they can enjoy some quality time — and fantastic food, of course — at mealtime. Be sure to stop by and see us at your neighborhood Food Town, to grab every great ingredient for your next family meal!