There's more to meal times than just physical nourishment. Meals have also always been about bringing people together to eat at work or at home. Eating regularly-timed meals together strengthen bonds among families and friends.

Studies suggest that families who observe regular meal times tend to eat more healthily and have an overall more positive outlook in life.

Family dinners give members a chance to reconnect with each other after a long day at school or work. It lets children know their parents are interested in what's going on with them. When families sit down together to eat, they talk to one another and the parents are "checking in" with their kids and the kids are likewise "checking in" with their parents. This connectivity is vital to healthy and supportive family relationships.

Eating together with extended family and friends during holidays, milestones, and special occasions ingrains this sense even further and contributes to the well-being of children and adults alike, by letting them know that they have a "support group" that they can always count on.

You don't need a big event such as a fiesta or a Christmas dinner for families and friends to gather. Delicious and healthy meals can even be whipped up quickly and easily with recipes from Del Monte Kitchenomics­.

With our increasingly busy and stressful lives, having family dinners together have become even more important. Make sure to make time for it!

Sources:
The Family Dinner Project, https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/resources/faq/
Closer Ties As Neighbors Bond Over Food, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/closer-ties-as-neighbours-bond-over-food
Raising Healthy Children, https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1195