News

Today is Giving Tuesday!

Following closely on the retail-oriented heels of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday provides us with the opportunity to begin the holiday season on a charitable giving note. If you are participating in the ...

Industry Contributions to Health and Well-being

As noted in The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2020 (Speaks) report, “the greatest health crisis in 100 years has scrambled just about every facet of food retail, not to mention society in general.” As a result, one guiding imperative resonates ...

Are You Ready for Some Food Ball? The Road to Supper Bowl I

Baseball has its World Series, hockey has the Stanley Cup, tennis has its Wimbledon and football has its Super Bowl. Now the food industry has its Supper Bowl! All of these landmark competitions offer teams the chance to prove they are the best of ...

And Now for Some Good News on the Family Meals Front

The number of partners and stakeholders continues to grow and the creativity with which they have embraced and shared the good news of family meals is yielding incredible results. I am pleased to share that we’ve made another leap, and in 2020, 33% ...

Family Meals Month – Helping our Industry Stay Strong

Americans are using family meals to stay strong – physically and emotionally – during the pandemic; and they plan to continue this positive practice when a new normal is established. The FMI Foundation conducted a national survey confirming that ...

The Food Industry Celebrates Family Meals Month

The food industry is rallying around National Family Meals Month™. Here are some of the MANY activities we’ve seen encouraging families to make the most of their time around the ...

So, How Does America Feel about All These Family Meals?

COVID-19 has certainly changed our approach to family meals and perhaps reshaped our attitude about preparing them, but has it affected the benefits and how we perceive them? We wanted to know, so the FMI Foundation funded research to find out and ...

A Millennial Declaration to Strengthen Family Meals

At the intersection of health and well-being and food safety, the Family Meals Movement signifies community service, inclusion, respect and a drive to build a brighter future ...

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Family Meals

The genius of the Wizard of Oz story lies in its ability to creatively convey a simple, but hard truth about human nature; we frequently go wishing for miracle solutions to our problems, when the answers we seek are already in our possession. Tin ...

Confessions of a Leftover Laggard

I admit to being a bit late to the game when it comes to appreciating the benefits and advantages to leftovers. Truth be told, I’ve never liked them. Even as a child, my Mother reported I would roll my eyes and, in my television-influenced ...

Moving from Weariness to Well-being

For five months now, requirements in addressing COVID-19 have touched, affected, or changed most every aspect of our lives. Not the least of these is the fact it has reversed a significant food trend; it has driven us from being an eating culture, ...

The New Normal Encouraging New Habits

The food industry recognizes that “family meal fatigue” is a real thing for everyone and that customers in all categories are in the same boat in which I find myself. We need help, solutions and new ideas to address the menu challenges of this ...

Eating and Cooking During COVID-19; Lessons in Tart Improvisation

According to the U.S. Grocery Shoppers Trends COVID-19 Tracker survey, 76% of consumers have changed how they eat due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While I do not always plan my meals, 27% of consumers are planning more meals in advance these days. Some ...

A Recipe for Safely Preparing Food at Home during COVID-19

What’s for dinner? It is one of those age-old questions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the question has evolved and it’s not just what’s for dinner, but what’s for breakfast? Lunch? Snack? Dessert?...

Together, Again… Again, Unless We’re Not: Family Meals Faces Some New Issues

We have a pulled together some COVID-19 Family Meal resources and on the Family Meals Website at www.FamilyMealsMovement.org. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, our tip compilation runs the gamut of family meal ideas ...

Home is Where the Heart… Wait, Home is Where Everything Is

Helping families of all shapes and sizes share meals together both in home and virtually is a foundational purpose the various parts of the food industry open their respective doors for business each day – even in these coronavirus stressful days. ...

2020 Midwinter Executive Conference by the Numbers

In a matter of days, the food industry will land in Phoenix for the 2020 Midwinter Executive Conference. Top industry executives will gather to discuss proven and emerging trends, and how it will influence future business operations....

Mark Your Calendars: Special Days During the Holidays

In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, I encourage you to donate to the FMI Foundation, a 501(c)3 charitable organization that supports research and education in the areas of food safety, nutrition, and health. Here are some of our 2019 successes that ...

Three Winning Strategies for Private Brand Retailers

Succeeding in private brands requires great products, but that’s not all.Increasingly it’s also about pursuing key strategies to accelerate the business. A number of strategies were discussed at the recent FMI Private Brands DC ...

Monster of an Idea to Keep Family Meals Alive

In 2019 the Gold Plate Awards will recognize retailer, supplier and community collaborator programs that creatively participated in National Family Meals Month in September....