Frequently Asked Questions

Created by the FMI Foundation, National Family Meals Month™ kicks off an industry inspired movement to raise consumer awareness of the health and societal benefits of sharing frequent family meals at home. Each September, the food retail industry will rally together in support of National Family Meals Month™ to promote the role grocers and food manufacturers play in helping busy families of all shapes and sizes share more meals at home more often. 

Numerous studies show that preparing and sharing meals at home make families and kids stronger and healthier. We believe that no one is better equipped to help families get wholesome meals on the table than FMI members like you! National Family Meals Month™ provides a platform for grocers to rally families to commit to sharing one more meal per week, and remind them that simple, healthy mealtime solutions can be found in every supermarket aisle.   

Through campaign messaging and engagement tools, FMI Members will encourage shoppers to commit to sharing one more family meal at home per week. In September, as kids head back to school and parents adjust their routines to accommodate fall activities, we want families to commit to making mealtime a priority. Their grocers can show them how. 

Once a daily tradition, family meals are at a critical intersection in our nation today. The desire to return to the table exists, but families need a friendly, familiar voice to show them the way. That voice is their grocer. More than 76% of people report that conflicting schedules are a primary barrier to cooking and eating together on a regular basis. ⁱ People are hungry for help in the kitchen. ⁱⁱ This event positions grocers as problem-solvers, and gives you another way to highlight how you’re investing in mealtime solutions to meet consumer demand in a changing food retail environment. 

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i 2014 FGI Research commissioned by The Monday Campaign

ii The Hartman Group

• Research supports that children who share regular family meals benefit from better grades, improved nutrition, stronger family relationships, higher self-esteem, and are less likely to use drugs and alcohol at an early age. ⁱⁱⁱ
• According to a recent study published online by The Journal of Pediatrics, adolescents who participated in just one or two family meals per week were less likely to be overweight or obese in adulthood as compared to adolescents who never participated in family meals. ^iv
• People eat healthier when they eat together at home. People reporting to eat the most home-cooked meals end up having healthier diets and consuming, on average, 130 fewer calories when compared to people who eat fewer home-cooked meals. ^v 

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iii Meier, A. & Musick, K., Variation in Associations between Family Dinners and Adolescent Well-Being, Journal of Marriage & Family, 2014.;  Hammonds, A.J. & Fiese, B.A., Is Frequency of Shared Meals Related to Nutritional Health of Adolescents? Pediatrics 2011

iv Jerica M. Berge, PhD, MPH, LMFT, CFLE, and colleagues from the University of Minnesota and Columbia University

v Study conducted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2014 

Take advantage of National Family Meals Month™ to remind shoppers and the larger community that your company advocates for families every day by offering mealtime solutions that help busy families get wholesome meals on the table so they can reap the benefits of family mealtime. Positioning your company within the community as an extension of the family unit and a problem solver generates consumer trust and customer loyalty, both of which are great for business. 

FMI encourages its associate members, the nation’s leading food manufacturers, to partner with retailers like you to bring national awareness to the family meals movement by supporting in-store activation and product promotions during National Family Meals Month™ in September. To engage food manufacturers, FMI created a separate toolkit for its associate members. Containing downloadable assets and ideas for activation, the toolkit is designed to inspire collaboration between food manufacturers and retailers. FMI is generating buzz throughout the manufacturer community to help retailers start the conversation with their trusted partners. 

Downloadable assets, available as part of the National Family Meals Month™ retailer toolkit, are provided to you at no cost courtesy of FMI. Created as a plug-and-play promotion, complementary graphic elements and suggested messaging were designed to supplement the way your company already promotes mealtime solutions in-store, and through established marketing and social media channels. 

With a goal to bring national awareness to the benefits of family meals and remind families that the solution to their mealtime dilemma is their grocer, FMI invites all its members to join together in September in celebration of National Family Meals Month™. By collaborating across industry with a shared message and unified voice, retailers and their supplier partners can cut through the clutter and bring mealtime back to the family table.   

FMI has you covered. All toolkit assets, while flexible, are robust enough to function as a standalone National Family Meals Month™ promotion in September. FMI retailer members looking to introduce a family meals program can find additional resources in FMI’s Family Meals Program Implementation Guide, available as part of the National Family Meals Month™ retailer toolkit.