Eating as a family has been found to have a positive health impact on children and adolescents, but what about adults? A cross-sectional survey sampling of nearly 900 parents (mean age 31.4) with young children (mean age 4.6) found that a higher frequency of family meals was linked to parents reporting statistically higher self-esteem, lower stress indices, and stronger connected relationships. Parents also reported eating more servings of fruits and vegetables in relation to sharing more family meals. This research supports that parents, too, demonstrate higher indicators of nutritional, emotional, and social well-being when meals are shared.

Reference: Utter, J., Larson, N., Berge, J. M., Eisenberg, M. E., Fulkerson, J. A., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2018). Family meals among parents: Associations with nutritional, social and emotional wellbeing. Preventive medicine, 113, 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.05.006 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6309329/

Laura Bustard is an actuary who is passionate about plants. She has conducted research on the emergency food system and prescription-produce, and recently worked for FairShare CSA Coalition in Madison, WI. She now lives in Goleta, CA, and works remotely for The Standard, holding a Masters of Science in Urban and Regional Planning and a Fellowship from the Society of Actuaries.

Supporting Our Work - We’re currently an all-volunteer organization and we see incredible room and need to grow over the coming year. We understand that this time has enormous challenges for everyone, so while we’ll be seeking support to help roll our vision forward, we’re also thinking creatively to keep our costs low to efficiently build resources and deliver programming at low to no cost to our community. If you’d like to support our work, we hope you’ll consider making a donation to one of our giving programs through our community partner, the Santa Barbara Foundation!