Family Dinner Night

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Contributors: Keren Rosenberg, Weight of the Fox Valley Program Manager and Kathy Moureau, Weight of the Fox Valley Program Assistant

Do you struggle to coordinate family dinners? Research has shown that family meals promote healthy eating habits and provide quality time for families to connect. The reality is that we don’t sit down to eat together on a regular basis. Work schedules and extracurricular activities are a deterrent to family meals and technology can cause distractions.

The Weight of the Fox Valley’s Family Dinner Night was created in order to bring families to the table. Family Dinner Night is hosted at local schools and provides an evening for families to come together to cook, to learn, and to have fun! Caregivers and kids have the opportunity to learn how to cook a healthy dinner that they can easily replicate at home. One participant said, "I have a picky eater. Planning meals together would be very helpful to alleviate this challenge." During the event, the whole family helps to chop and cook the food, set the table, and eat. Every one of the family members, including the little ones, take part.

The main goal of the Family Dinner Night program is to model the importance of having family time at the table together, without any distractions such as screens, and to teach participants how to cook a healthy, simple and affordable dinner.
 
Thank you Edison Elementary School for hosting several Family Dinner Nights with delicious recipes for families to try such as Muffin Tin Egg Bakes, Fruit Salad, Oatmeal Energy Bites, Jar Salad, and Banana Pops. We also want to extend a special thank you to Lori Bjelde from Edison Elementary School, Julia Salomón, MS, RD, CD at Affinity Health System, and Dietetic Interns from UW-Green Bay for leading the sessions.

If you are interested in hosting Family Dinner Night at your organization, please email Keren Rosenberg, Weight of the Fox Valley Program Manager. Learn more about Weight of the Fox Valley.