Press Release Summary: The death of the family meal is upon on us. Food company Good Taste Foods are bidding to reverse the trend and get families eating together again.
Press Release Body: Reclaiming bonding time around the kitchen table away from the TV and microwave isn't easy. The social and emotional benefits of family meals are thought to be far-reaching. Family members now seem to dine sporadically whenever they can fit a meal into their busy lifestyle. Grazing teenagers and parents are so busy trying to get ahead that they aren't even aware sometimes of how much they were eating and lose out on vital discussion time.
Between childcare, homework and work schedules, time for family meals at many households tends to get squeezed out. Coming home from a long day at work and having to start cooking is hard for some parents. It can be tiring to make a wonderful meal every night if both partners are working. Organising family dinners can feel like a chore rather than a pleasure. A personal chef would be the perfect answer but for most households that's not a reality.
Martin Darnley of Good Taste Foods comments, \"The cement of family life for some is crumbling and losing family mealtimes is a big part of that. We will be running a national competition called Connect and Eat 2008. It's an initiative that we will run from now until August 2008. This competition will position our convenient food ranges at a domestic market whilst hopefully nurturing the fabric of family communication.\"
The company will run the Connect and Eat competition through the media. People can submit pictures, videos or stories of their family sitting down to meals at home together. Martin says, \"We'll pick the best of the bunch and send £150 of Good Taste Foods vouchers to the winning family. Every family taking part gets £5 off their first order.\"
As part of Connect and Eat 2008, the Good Taste Foods team will also be creating fact sheets so schools can take part in the competition and discuss family mealtimes as part of their PSE and citizenship lessons.
Martin says, "We want to engage with families who enjoy cooking to improve their domestic eating patterns. Households can have a non-perishable premium quality meat, fish and poultry creations delivered to their door frozen, then cook with minimal stress, time and fuss."